Power Rangers GPX SIU
by BigD1987
Summary: GPX AU: Southern Illinois University Carbondale is under siege by immoral alchemists with unknown intentions. Its best hope for defense are five superheroes calling themselves "Power Rangers". But they're also students at SIU, and schoolwork and personal lives mix with professional as they try to unravel the mystery of their alchemist enemies.
1. Introduction

Power Rangers GPX Alternate Universe, SIU episode 1: Introduction

Note: This is an introductory chapter and has little to no bearing on the plot… yet. Besides that, sit back and enjoy!

:-:-:-:We're the best chance, for humanity, Power Rangers G-P-X, let's go!:-:-:-:

Carbondale, Illinois is not a major metropolis.

So when strange, zombie-like creatures appeared this town (officially referred to as the City of Carbondale), it was a big surprise. Even bigger a surprise was when five people wearing colored spandex calling themselves "Power Rangers" showed up to fight them. It was like something out of a 1950s B-movie. And yet, it was so real; so real, in fact, that the _New York Times _sent a reporter to cover it.

And yet, there was little he could actually write about it, because not only were the Power Rangers elusive, he had _no _idea who they were; in fact that was the point. He could not find any way to tell who they were. They wore those helmets with black visors, after all. No one would be able to figure out who they are. They could be anybody! And even though this was common knowledge, it wasn't enough to turn the home of Southern Illinois University into a hive of paranoia.

And yet, the Power Rangers showed up every time there was an enemy attack, either in the city or outside in some abandoned lot. They usually found them trying to sabotage the city's utilities, like the water at Crab Orchard Lake or at the power plant. Other times, there were sightings of giant robots fighting giant monsters. It's the kind of thing that would make a CNN crew descent on a small town. Luckily, the Carbondale city government wanted none of it.

There weren't a whole lot of reasons why. But the best, most valid and official reason was because, again, this is a college town. College students have to have their privacy, after all. Oh, they didn't block the reporters, that's just plain wrong. They did, however, request that only the local stations (like WSIL, KFVS and WPSD) provide the footage to the national… okay, you're getting impatient.

There was no way of knowing who the Power Rangers were, nor who the enemy was. The enemy was the Ouroboros Society; an alchemic society dating back to the Middle Ages, founded by disgruntled followers of Paracelsus. Just what they wanted, and what they were doing in Carbondale, however, was a complete mystery, even to the Rangers.

As for the identity of the Power Rangers, they didn't have to look far. The Rangers were five college-age young adults who all happened to be attending SIU. One was an Illinois (more specifically, the Chicago area)-native, one was from Ireland, one from South Africa, one from Venezuela and another from Japan.

It's been a month since the last attack on the city. That's about to change.

It's the first day of Spring Semester 2011. The students have come back from their Christmas break after the blink-and-you'll-miss-it fall semester. By contrast, the Spring semester will feel like an eternity. And the basketball season is starting to heat up… if only the team was any good.

In the Wall & Grand apartment complex on the corner of Wall Street and Grand Avenue on the east side of the campus, we find a two-person apartment with two young men inside, with separate bedrooms. One of them woke up before the other, getting up to look out at the snow partially covering the ground. "Wish we had more in Joburg," he said to himself.

He was dark skinned and had thin dreadlocks, an athletic build and a slender jaw line. His early-twenties features were soft, and his brown eyes examined the snow on the ground a little more before he went over to the small kitchen to make some coffee. Mandla Aaron Ndebele really liked his coffee. So Aaron (as he's usually called) made his coffee. No doubt his roommate would smell it, too. He also liked his coffee.

"_YAWN_, morning," his roommate said as he entered their little common area. He was in his early twenties, had a fair skin tone with a lean and athletic build as well, but slightly smaller. His brown eyes was framed by a slender face and topped off with brown hair that touched his eyebrows and half covered his ears and was kind of messy. He wore a t-shirt and gym shorts, which seemed kind of strange for mid-January. "You got class today?"

"At ten and one," said Aaron. "What about you?"

"Nine and 11," said the roommate, Chicago-are native Sean O'Callahan. "I hate having to wake up at this ungodly hour."

"Too bad," Aaron said as Sean flopped on the little couch they had in their pre-furnished apartment.

"I'm thinking about going to Trueblood," he said, referring to the dining hall near the Brush Towers. Outside their window was the east-west Grand avenue, and Rinella Field, the large playfield where many students could be seen playing games of tag football and other things and right next to those are the Brush Towers and Grinnell Hall. Trueblood is beyond them, near Neely Hall, a similar tower but not part of the Brush Towers complex, but more within the adjacent University Park area. All of this is on the east side of campus.

"I don't know," said Aaron, the South African. "I'm already tired of that."

"Well, yeah, dorm food does taste like cardboard," said Sean. "What do we have here?"

"Cereal, Eggos, bread, junk," said Aaron.

"Fuck it, let's make some cereal," said Sean. "I'll have some Lucky Charms."

"Isn't that—"

"I don't care."

"I thought you'd want something that doesn't—"

"I said I don't care," said Sean. "Just get me the fucking box."

"Sorry," said Aaron. "I wonder what the girls are doing right now."

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

Across campus, at the Thompson Point area, right next to campus lake, is Bowyer Hall, an all-women's dormitory. So naturally, the next characters to be introduced are women. This is a double room; two beds. One bed was close to the window, the other was against the wall. The young figure in the bed close to the window shifted, before sitting up, her hair looking a little messy.

She stretched and yawned before opening the curtains, squinting at the light refracted by the fresh batch of snow looking out over at Point Drive. "Damn snow," she said. She slipped out of bed, wearing her pajamas. She closed the curtains and took her pajama top off, revealing an undershirt tank top and a Wonder Woman-esque build. Her skin had sort of a light brown tone and she had dark brown hair that went down past her shoulders. She swore in Spanish. "_Es frio_." That one was out loud.

"Oi, Hitomi," she said to the other young lady in the room. "Are you up yet?" The other girl stirred. She didn't look much older than the other, in fact, she looked about 18.

"Why does it have to be so cold?" the younger girl asked in a light Japanese accent.

"Don't ask," replied the Latina. The Japanese girl got up, while the Latina woman, Maria Aparicio of Venezuela, walked into the bathroom they shared with their neighbors; it's a suite style dorm. The Japanese girl had lighter skin tone, black hair with brown highlights that made her look kind of like a Japanese pop singer and a more lithe body build.

"Don't take too long!" she called out.

"I'm not going to take too long, Hitomi!" shouted the Venezuelan woman. The Japanese girl shrugged and got out of bed, turning on the TV to some American station and the sound of the shower filled the room.

Maria was done a couple of minutes later, drying her hair off while Hitomi took her chance to take a shower. "Is there anything in here?" Maria asked.

"I haven't gone shopping yet," said Hitomi. Maria cursed under her breath.

"I don't want to go to Lentz," said Maria. "Especially not for breakfast."

"When's your first class?" asked Hitomi.

"Nine," said Maria. "I hate early classes."

"Where's my shampoo?"

"It's in the basket!" Maria replied.

"Okay!" said Hitomi.

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"Damn it's cold," Sean muttered when he left his apartment building. Some other students were walking west towards the main part of campus, past the Student Health Center and the Rec Center. Sean adjusted his backpack and ballcap, stuffed his hands inside his jacket and walked west on Grand to the T-intersection of Grand and S Illinois Avenue.

He crossed the railroad tracks and waited a few minutes for the right moment to cross S Illinois. Gaia House, with its one-story Chinese pagoda style, was off to the right, and in the distance, the Strip (Illinois Avenue) to the north, and by extension, downtown Carbondale.

The light changed and Sean sprinted across the intersection to reach the main part of the campus. That's when he noticed someone near Quigley Hall cornering a little guy—in broad daylight! Well, that didn't sit well with Sean, so he decided to do something.

"Listen you, I want to pass my class this semester, so you'd better get things right, got it?"

"Um, okay!" The smaller guy said, his voice shaking. His friends were too scared to do anything.

"You, know, I thought people stopped being bullies in college!" A voice called out from behind them. They turned around to see Sean, a dead-serious look on his face, taking off his backpack.

"What's it to you?" said the big guy. No, he's not a football player. SIU football players are better students than this jerk.

"Well, it is broad daylight and the first day of the semester," said Sean. "Let him go."

"And what are you gonna do?" said the big guy. "Come here, runt!" He lunged for Sean. But Sean was to fast and was right in his face before the big guy had any chance. Sean grabbed his collar, swept his feet out from under him and threw him to the snow.

"Call the police," said Sean. "Either SIU or C-Dale, whatever!"

"Um, okay!" said one of the little guy's friends. "What about him?"

"He's fine, but he won't be getting up any time soon," said Sean, picking his backpack up and walking away. "See ya!"

Sean's first class was in Pulliam Hall on the north end of campus, and whose clock tower was the symbol of the university. After walking past Woody Hall, home of the university's administrative offices, Pulliam came into view. The red brick façade across the dipping field of snow towered over the campus.

The hall ways of the old building were filled with freshmen who had their classes early in the morning because that was when their classes were. Sean's class was on the third floor and he walked into a classroom overlooking the green and Morris Library in the distance. He took a seat at a desk close to the chalkboard, taking off his jacket and beanie which covered his ballcap.

"_Hola_," he heard someone say next to him. He looked to see,

"Maria," he said to Maria Aparicio.

"You're up early," she said.

"I know," Sean said with a groan. "I hate these early morning classes."

"Same here," said Maria. "Why did I have to wait until the last minute to take this class?"

"Fucking sucks," said Sean. "Who's the teacher this time around?"

"It's O'Donnell," said Maria.

"Wait, Kevin's teaching this class?" said Sean. Maria nodded her head.

"Alright, every one settle down," their TA said in his Irish brogue as he walked into the classroom holding a stack of papers (syllabi and other things) and dropped it on the teacher's desk in front of the chalk board and wrote out the class name and number. "My name is Kevin O'Donnell, I am from Ireland, I went to University College Dublin for undergrad and I'm here for my graduate courses. I already know a couple of you," he looked at Sean and Maria, "But don't expect me to go easy on any of you."

Kevin looked a couple years older than Sean and Maria, apparently 24. He had short, fuzzy light brown hair, a slightly rounded face (like the map of Ireland), blue eyes, a rugby players' build and appeared to be about an inch or two taller than Sean. "... And no, I have never lived in a thatch-roofed house my entire life!"

"He gets that a lot," said Sean. He paused when Kevin handed out the syllabi.

"Things are going to be a little different this week thanks to Martin Luther King day, but lectures are on Mondays and Wednesdays and discussion is on Tuesdays," said Kevin. "And Sean, please don't try to make any trouble."

"I won't," said Sean. "I don't want any trouble either."

"Good," said Kevin. "If you have any questions, Professor McDonald and I will be happy to answer any questions you have."

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

"I still hate using my schedule," Sean said as they left the building. "I should know these things by now!"

"And yet you don't," she replied. He gave her a little shove as she cackled. Their conversation was interrupted when an SIU police car drove up on W Grand Ave across from the Old Baptist Foundation building and the cop at the wheel gave a couple of honks. "What did you do this time?" Maria teased. Sean gave her a dirty look before walking up to the cop car.

"Hey Rob," he said. However, the officer in the car who looked to be in his mid-twenties didn't look too happy.

"What happened earlier?" he asked. "With that guy you knocked to the ground?"

"He was bullying some guy," Sean explained. "I had to do something."

"We've just started the semester," Rob bemoaned. "I don't want my superiors thinking I have some conflict of interest because you're my brother-in-law."

"Come on, I didn't hurt the guy, I just threw him to the ground," Sean replied. "Are you going to arrest me for that?'

"Of course not," said Rob. "I just want you to take it a little easier, okay?"

"Fine," said Sean. "But somebody should have stopped that guy."

"Don't push it," said Rob. "I have to get going." He drove off and Sean backed away.

"What was it this time?" asked Maria.

"Oh, nothing," Sean lied.

"Officer Jackson didn't look too happy," she said. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Sean replied.

"I hope your roommate doesn't have the same gullibility your brother-in-law has," said Maria.

"Hey, you're 21 and your roommate is a freshman," said Sean. "Don't complain to me about roommates."

"You're 21 too," said Maria. "Tell the truth to your brother-in-law."

"It was no big deal!" said Sean. "He's not gullible."

"Of course," said Maria. "He's just giving you preferential treatment."

"He doesn't want to," said Sean. "Let's get going."

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

Aaron cursed himself for not wearing boots when he stepped in a snow bank. Immediately his foot felt the cold sting of the snow. It's not so magical when you get it in your shoes. In fact, winter's already pretty bad. Winter in South Africa is bad, but at least it doesn't snow down there. In fact, it shouldn't even be snowing here! Who gave this part to snow? And, Aaron eventually realized he was talking out loud when he saw people looking at him.

"Hello, Aaron," Hitomi said. She didn't look to mad about the snow. She seemed to be enjoying herself. "I like the snow, it reminds me of my family's trips to Hokkaido in the winter."

"I'm glad you like it," he said sarcastically.

"Don't you?"

"Of course not!"

"That's too bad," said Hitomi. "You should try to have fun!"

"We don't get snow that much in South Africa," said Aaron.

"That's too bad," said Hitomi.

"You already said that."

"I know, but it really is too bad," said Hitomi.

"I have class to get to," Aaron said, getting frustrated with the current line of conversation. He walked away, thinking his conversation with Hitomi was over.

However, she followed him. He was a little weirded out by, since she seemed like a stalker. However, he noticed she didn't really have her eyes on him. In that case, it must be because she has a class in Lawson hall, the nearby lecture hall (sort of a typical college lecture hall). He felt a cold burst of wind and he shivered into his Kaizer Chiefs F.C. scarf.

He walked into Lawson Hall, where his class would be, and to his surprise, Hitomi was following him. "You actually have this class?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "All the freshmen are taking it." He slapped himself mentally for that. He was taking a required course, and he had no idea it was full of freshmen. He's only been here since the beginning of the fall semester of 2010, after all. But then again, so have Hitomi and Maria. Sean is the only one of them to be going to SIU longer than them.

Aaron didn't complain as he took his seat somewhere in the middle of the middle section so he'd be just another face in the crowd while Hitomi eagerly sat next to him. Now I must tell you, she does not have a crush on him, and vice-versa. It's a strictly friendly relationship. And no, the author is not lying, so get your shipping thoughts out of your heads. "By the way, Sean wants us to meet at the Student Center at noon," said Hitomi. After a few minutes, the professor walked out on to the stage to begin the lecture.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

Sean checked his iPhone while he walked along the footbridge connecting the towers with the rest of campus. He didn't have his backpack on because he'd left that in his apartment. Again, he shivered into his jacket as a cold gust of wind blew. He was used to this kind of weather, it's a typical Chicago winter. And he'd come to expect it here in Southern Illinois (even though statistically, Carbondale is hotter yearly on average than Miami, although that's mostly due to very hot summers and Miami's steady yearly temperature).

He nodded his head at a few familiar faces as he passed the parking structure and Parkinson Laboratory. In front of him was the south end of Faner Hall, the long and confusing liberal arts building that bisected part of the campus. Right next to that, was the Student Center.

Sean entered the Student Center, the Starbucks, bowling alley and arcade to his left and the bookstore a bit up ahead on his right. He took off his hood and beanie and walked down the hall to the place where he'd get his food. He passed the little TV room on his left and the escalator on his right. Someone was hawking stuff for the new students and the place was pretty crowded. It is noon, after all. He walked past the bookstore and the McDonald's and walked into a little part on his left where the Rio Frontera was.

He ordered a burrito and sat down in the dining room. Maria was already there waiting for him. "What took you?" she asked.

"How'd you get here so early?" he countered miserably.

"Can't believe you're our leader," she said as she took a bit out of a sub sandwich.

"Hey guys," Aaron said as he sat down with his McDonald's bag and Hitomi with something from Blimpie. Kevin was the last to come in, carrying a lunch bag.

"Looks like the gang's all here," said Sean.

"Except for one," said Aaron.

"He must be dealing with something Sean did," said Maria.

"Hey come on," said Sean. "Well anyways, we haven't had any problems for a month, so I guess this little meeting will just be like a lunch date."

"I have to make it quick," said Kevin. "Professor McDonald wants me back at the office at 1."

"We have time," said Sean. "And you never really said anything like that last semester. Besides, why did you become a TA anyways, you know how crazy and unpredictable things can get."

"I needed the money," said Kevin.

"Maybe you could use alchemy to make—oh wait, that lowers its value," said Sean.

"Stop mentioning alchemy," said Aaron.

"And yet you watch 'Fullmetal Alchemist' on Saturdays," said Sean.

"That's different," said Aaron.

"Then why did you ask to stop mentioning alchemy?" asked Hitomi. "He's been crabby all morning."

"Must be the snow," said Sean.

"How did you guess?" Aaron asked sarcastically.

"Can we just eat?" said Maria. "This is getting old and fast."

"Gladly," said Sean. "I want to go and troll the frat boys trying to get pledges."

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

The old part of campus, ringed by Shryock Auditorium, Altgeld Hall, Wheeler Hall, Davies Gym, a parking lot, Anthony Hall, Parkinson Laboratory and the Art & Design Building, is about as close to quad as SIU has, and even then it's not really a quad. In fact, there used to be a building that stood here, Old Main, but that burned down in the 70s. Shryock, Parkinson, Altgeld and the Art & Design Building are also all across from Faner Hall, Wheeler is pretty much an old house and Davies is right next to Illinois Avenue.

The "quad" also includes two pieces of sculpture. One is a fountain with a little boy and a little girl called the "Paul and Virginia" Fountain, and a bronze statue of DW Morris, the man who turned SIU from a teacher's college to the modern institution it is today and was the university' longest-serving president.

There was nothing going on here until out of nowhere, colored lightning began to crackle from the ground. Students and others who were taking a walk stopped suddenly and watched as strange, emaciated humanoid creatures began to rise from the ground, groaning like a hoard of zombies. They had only one eye, right in the middle of their forehead. Another figure, this one not emaciated and fully clothed also emerged from the ground.

"Well, this looks interesting," he said in an almost sadistic glee, looking at the terrified faces. He looked beastly, but only because his clothing made him look that way. But his facial expression was purely sadistic. "It's been a month since we could do this. These people need to be taught a lesson, Mannequins," he said. "KILL THEM!" The Mannequins screamed and attacked.

The quad was filled with the screams of the victims and cannibalistic Mannequins. The Mannequins jumped all over as the victims tried to run away. The beastly man laughed evilly as one police officer was brought down screaming. "COME ON, RANGERS!" he shouted. "COME AND STOP US!"

Sean was watching TV when he heard a beeping. _Beep, beep, be-beep-beep, beep, beep_. He stopped and grabbed a device and strapped it to his wrist. It looked like a gear box in a car. "Yes?"

"_Enemy attack in the old campus,_" said the voice on the other end. Sean looked at Aaron and the two nodded before going into their rooms and coming out with black leather jackets and face-covering hats.

It was the same with Hitomi and Maria. As soon as they got the call, they were out of their dorm before anyone could see them.

Kevin, however, had it more difficult. He was in his office in Faner Hall when he heard the beeping. It gained the attention of one of the TAs, but he ignored it. "I'm going out for a few minutes," he said.

"But you just went out," said the TA. "What's going on?"

"I just need a walk," Kevin said as he grabbed his jacket. The other TA watched while Kevin left. Just seconds after Kevin was out the door, a security guard burst in.

"The area outside Shryock is under attack! Everyone, stay calm!"

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

There was blood and bodies on the snow. The police had responded rapidly and surrounded the area, but the enemy was not fazed at all. While the Mannequins were not attacking, they were just waiting for the signal. The leader himself seemed to be waiting for the right opportunity. "This is the Carbondale Police Department!" said the police chief. "We have the area completely surrounded!"

"By you and whose army?" said the leader. "As you can see, _we _have the army!"

Rob listened to this with nervous apprehension. The police had shot a couple of Mannequins… but they were still alive. Why did these things have to come back and—what the hell?

Two figures jumped over them from the north and laid waste to the Mannequins. Their faces were covered, making it impossible to identify them.

"Stupid mannequins!" said one figure with his face covered by a red full-face ski mask. The other one was covered by a scarf, sunglasses and a green beanie. "Ndebele, behind you!" The one with the scarf turned around and elbowed the Mannequin in the chin.

"Thanks Sean," said Aaron. The two went back to beating up the enemies.

Then, another figure arrived, jumping off the Shryock steps and crashing into several Mannequins. He almost slipped on some blood in the bricks, but kept his footing. He wore a blue mask and grabbed the nearest Mannequin by the neck. He picked it up and threw it into several other Mannequins.

Then two more figures arrived, jumping over the cops between Anthony Hall and Parkinson lab. These two were female, wearing yellow and pink. The one in yellow danced around the Mannequins while the one in pink flipped about like a gymnast.

The five gathered around Sean and faced down the enemy. "Ndebele, Kevin, Hitomi, Maria," said Sean. "You guys ready?"

"We're always ready," said Maria.

"Fantastic," said Sean. "It's been a month, but… READY!?"

They pulled their sleeves up, exposing the gear box-shaped devices and pulled out keys.  
_READY!"_

"LET'S DO THIS!" Sean screamed in hot-blooded glory.

"_GPX, START IT UP!_" They jammed they keys into the gear box. There was a flash of light. When it dissipated, they had changed.

They wore colored tights (not spandex!) in red, blue, green, yellow and pink. Their tops, sleeves, boots and helmets were colored, their pants were white with a colored stripe going down the pant leg and their gloves were white. The girls had skirts. Broken lines like on a road ran down their arms and silver seat belts were buckled to a flat-topped pentagon-shaped belt buckle connected to a black utility belt, which blasters hung on the right hip. Their helmets had sleek-looking black visors, headlights and grilled mouth plates and topped with wheel-like features on the sides. They had tires on the top of their boots and end of their gloves. Their chest insignia had a wheel with a motion-font gold number.

"One, GPX Red!" cried Sean.

"Two, GPX Blue!" cried Kevin.

"Three, GPX Green!" shouted Aaron.

"Four, GPX Yellow!" shouted Maria.

"Five, GPX Pink!" shouted Hitomi.

"_Power Rangers! GPX!_"

_These _are the Power Rangers.

"Alright, that's the last time we do that!" said Sean. "LET'S GO!" The Rangers ran forward and working in teams, fought the Mannequins..

Aaron ducked under a Mannequin while Kevin punched it in the face. Aaron took it down quickly. He got up and punched another Mannequin in the face, Kevin kicking it in the back. They split of for a second while Kevin reverse roundhouse kicked a Mannequin on the head. Aaron charged a pair of Mannequins with his arms wide out like wings and threw them to the crowd of Mannequins. He elbowed in the jaw and Kevin finished it off, giving it a nasty kick in the back.

Hitomi helped get the injured out of the area before going back and fighting off the Mannequins. Maria was busy beating the tar out of them, but Hitomi jumped onto her shoulders, flipped about and landed in the group of Mannequins. She cart wheeled and flipped out of the way while Maria threw a wicked right legged roundhouse kick. The Mannequin gargled and fell to the ground. Hitomi then flipped and kicked a Mannequin in the jaw and Maria punched it in the face.

"HELLO, RED RANGER!" The bad alchemist shouted at Sean.

"SHUT UP, RONALD! Still using your fake science?" Sean replied.

"It's not fake!" Ronald said, blocking a punch.

"It's nothing but magic!" said Sean.

"To a primitive mind like yours, of course!" said Ronald. The two got into a sparring match, Sean throwing a right hook which Ronald blocked. Ronald countered with a left upper cut, and Sean dodged it. He elbowed Ronald in the jaw, but Ronald swept his feet from under him. Sean got out of the way when Ronald tried to stomp on him. Then Ronald drew something in the snow. The area started to spark and an ice spear manifested itself from the snow.

Kevin took one of the remaining mannequins and threw it to the bricks outside Shryock. All around them, the ranks of Mannequins was starting to thin. Aaron flipped off the steps and threw a wicked punch at the Mannequins. He let Kevin grab it and he tossed it to the ground where it writhed in agony. Then the two double-teamed the next Mannequin, clothes lining it like a wrestler.

Hitomi and Maria almost had their Mannequins dealt with, too. Hitomi jumped up on a Mannequin's shoulder and kicked it in the head. They ducked and threw an upper-cut at the Mannequins. The Mannequins fell backwards and collapsed in the snow. Mannequin bodies lay all around them. They then kicked a Mannequin in the head. Its head twisted around and as it started to recover, Maria kicked it in the stomach.

Ronald thrust the blade of his ice spear at Sean. Sean dodged them each time. He'd tried chopping it, but Ronald had made it pretty strong. Sean danced out of the way and threw a punch at Ronald's head. The fist connected, but Ronald whacked him with his spear. Sean jumped out of the way and then rushed forward, jumped and kicked Ronald right in the face. "DAMN YOU!" Ronald shouted.

"You wanna keep going?" said Sean. "It looks like you've got no army!"

"Damn you again!" Ronald growled.

"Well this day's gone by pretty quick, so maybe a longer fight would be nice," said Sean, lampshading how rushed this chapter has felt.

"Forget it," said Ronald. "This was just a warning; a warning to tell you we're back!"

"I thought so," said Sean. "But I'm not letting you go!" He rushed Roland, but he'd already drawn a circle in the snow and disappeared. Sean cursed and stomped his foot in the snow before realizing he was surrounded by Carbondale police officers. "LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" he shouted to the other Rangers. All five scrambled away in no particular direction while the police scrambled to chase them.

Seconds later, the Rangers came out of their hiding spots, unmorphed and moving freely among the crowd that had gathered. The police were none the wiser.

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"So they defeated your force, eh, Ronald?"

"Yes, but I gave the Red Ranger our message."

"Excellent. It seems things are going exactly according to plan."

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

Okay, how was that? Was it any good? I'll admit it wasn't as good as it should be, but it's a simple introductory chapter. If you've read "Power Rangers GPX", you should know who these characters are, and if not, you can refer to the TV Tropes article (My fic has a TV Tropes article, yay!) or just read the original fic. Anyway, SIU is my alma mater and I may have gotten a little carried away describing it, but I think it's fine. Anyways, tell me what you think. I know it's rushed but I think it's okay. Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Murphysboro

Power Rangers GPX SIU, Episode 2: Murphysboro

:-:-:-:We're the best chance for humanity, Power Rangers G-P-X, let's go!:-:-:-:

It's a Friday night in Carbondale and the city is alive. Despite being a relatively small city, the place is filled with bars frequented by college students. It's caused trouble in the past (Halloween 2000 riot, which caused the bars to be restricted for Halloween), but for the most part it's not real bad, but SIU does have a reputation as a party school. An unofficial student motto is "We pregame harder than you party" (Pregaming is having a few drinks before actually going out).

So tonight, Sean, Aaron and Maria are meeting outside Wall & Grand and getting ready to go to Pinch Penny Pub, the most popular place in Carbondale, and it's just east of them on Grand. "So, the gang's all here," Sean said, rubbing his hands in the cold, "Except for Kevin."

"He couldn't come," said Maria. "He said it was because he didn't want to turn unprofessional and become friendly with his students."

"You are 21, right?" asked Sean.

"Of course I am," said Maria.

"Good," said Sean. "We don't want to get in trouble now, do we?"

"No," said Aaron. "Let's go."

"Fine," said Sean. "To Pinch!"

It was a short walk, the only intersection being Wall & Grand. While on the way, they discussed what they were going to drink; either get the easy stuff or get stuff that beer enthusiasts like. Unfortunately, they didn't really get far when they reached Pinch. It looked swamped there was a cover charge involved.

"Forget it," said Sean. "Let's wait a few minutes and go back to the apartment."

"No," said Maria. "Let's stay."

"And do what?" asked Sean.

"Let's discuss our strategy," said Maria. "Over there." She pointed to what looked like a quiet spot.

"Fine," said Sean.

"So what do you want to talk about?" asked Maria. "About what we were trained in since we were kids so that we could fight all threats alien and human, about how SWORD brought us here to fight these guys and gave us our morphers on the Sunday before school started and begged and begged us to take them?"

"No," said Aaron. "I was thinking about how we should figure out just what they're up to."

"We already dealt with their transmutation circle last month," said Sean. "But from what Ronald was talking about, I'm guessing they have something else up their sleeve if they've been stewing in their juices for a month."

"But they said last semester they had a plan," said Maria. "What plan is that?"

"Whatever it is, it's probably a long-term one," said Sean. "And Ronald said this last attack was a warning. Whatever it is, let's hope they don't attack us during Da Bears game."

"Sean!" Maria shouted. "We're dealing with the potential fate of over 25,000 people plus 15,000 undergrad students, and your concern is football!?"

"It's the NFC Championship Game!" Sean explained, "Against the fucking Packers, _of course_ it's important!"

"You're hopeless," said Maria.

"Can we get back to the plan?" said Aaron. "Oh, wait, we can't because it looks like Officer Brother-in-Law is here." Sean groaned as Rob pulled up to them in his SIU police car.

"Hello Sean," he said.

"Hey Rob," said Sean. "What's up?"

"Are you planning on driving tonight?" Sean looked around and pointed in the direction of Wall & Grand.

"My apartment is in walking distance!" he said. "Does it look like I'm gonna be driving?"

"Okay!" said Rob. "I just don't want any problems from you."

"Rob, I'm 21, I can handle myself!"

"You've only been 21 for a few months!" said Rob. "I don't know how you're going to handle your liquor!"

"What are you, my mother?"

"Look, Bridge asked me to do this, okay?" said Rob. "Don't get angry at me!"

"Okay, fine!" said Sean. "By the way, why didn't you show up on Tuesday?"

"I was in the middle of the police barricade!" said Rob. "I couldn't just sneak off!"

"How is he the Silver Ranger again?" Maria asked.

"SWORD accidentally sent him the Silver Morpher," said Aaron.

"I meant that as a rhetorical question," said Maria.

"… Rob, look, we're not going to get into trouble!" said Sean. "We're just going to have a few drinks and if any of my friends are there, invite them to watch the Bears game on Sunday, okay? Relax!"

"Okay, okay!" said Rob. "I'll leave you alone, just please don't—"

"Rob!"

"Okay, I have to get back on duty, just give me a call if you need anything," Rob said as he rolled his window up and drove away, leaving the trio behind.

"I thought he'd never leave," said Sean. "Come on, it looks like the line is shorter."

The place was too packed, so they took their business to the next door place, Cali's, but since Sean hated clubs, they stuck around in the Irish pub part of the building, called Callahan's.

"Caley!" Some Irish-looking guy shouted as Sean, Maria and Aaron entered the pub.

"Marty!" Sean replied, giving the guy a bro-hug. Maria and Aaron watched in confusion while the two seemingly old friends got reacquainted until Maria cleared her throat.

"Hey Caley, who are these guys?" he asked in a Chicago accent not much different from Sean's.

"Oh, sorry," said Sean. "Guys, this is my old buddy from Beverly Marty McAuliffe. Marty, this is Maria Aparicio and my roommate Aaron Ndebele."

"Nice to meet you," said Maria.

"So you watchin' the Bears game this Sunday?"

"You fuckin' know it!" said Sean. "Hey, wanna watch it at my apartment?"

"Sounds good," said Marty. "You gonna go crazy again?"

"Oh come on, that was one time!" said Sean.

"Do you know him from high school?" asked Maria.

"Nah, we I stopped going to the same school as him in 8th grade," said Sean. "I went to Naperville Central, he went to St. Rita."

"Why?" asked Aaron.

"His parents have been divorced since he was a kid," said Maria. "His mom lives in Naperville, his dad lives in Chicago."

"How do you know this?" asked Aaron.

"He told me!" Maria said as Sean and Marty ignored the conversation, just talking about old times.

"Dude, there's a punching machine," said Marty. "Wanna give it a couple punches?" Maria and Aaron wore a collective 'Oh Crap' expression on their faces. Even worse was Sean's response.

"You're on!"

"NO!" Maria said, getting in between the two. "I mean, why don't we get some drinks first?"

"Now that you mention it," said Sean. "Let's get some brewskis."

They ordered their drinks and sat down at a booth across from the bar. After a couple of minutes, they started to actually act like old friends. Also, they learned Sean and Marty were once teammates on the ice. "So, you guys all know karate, right?" asked Marty.

"I'm the one who knows karate," said Sean.

"Then what do you two know?" asked Marty.

"Taekwondo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu," said Maria.

"Muay Thai, and Jeet Kun Do," said Aaron.

"So is there a difference between all of those?"

"_YES!_" they all replied.

"Okay, okay, sorry!" said Marty. "Do you ever use that stuff on jagovs?"

"Martial arts are only meant to be used in self-defense and even then, it's non-lethal," said Sean. "They're not meant to hurt people."

"And yet you beat the crap out of so many players," said Marty.

"I was usually in a bad mood," said Sean. "Although considering you were the worst fighter on the team—"

"I was not, you jagov!" Marty replied. "I won just as many fights as you!"

"This guy thinks he's the baddest enforcer on the ice," said Sean. "He was just a winger!"

"What was that!?" said Marty. "You wanna go?"

"Um, let's go try out that punching machine!" Maria said in desperation.

"I forgot about that," said Marty. "Let's go!"

"You're on!" said Sean.

"Why?" asked Aaron.

"Must be the alcohol," said Maria.

The punching machine was a money-operated machine with an old-fashioned punching bag that supposedly could tell you how much you punched, even though it is clearly not scientific and is only intended to entertain bar patrons. "I'll go first!" said Marty. He wound up and gave it a good punch. "Seven hundred PSI!" he said. "Beat that!"

Apparently it riled something up in Maria and she shoved Marty out of the way. She fed a dollar into the machine and cracked her knuckles before giving it… a light jab.

"Holy shit!" said Marty, his jaw on the floor and eyes bugging out, "Six hundred!?" Then Aaron stepped up and gave it a little jab. "Seven hundred!?" A small crowd had gathered and they were just as bug-eyed as Marty was. Now it was Sean's turn and he gave it a jab. "Eight hundred!? Dude, you know what this means?"

"Yeah, the machine's broken!" said Sean. "Let's get outta here, I wanna go to Pinch."

"Puck Finch!"

"Shaddap!" Sean replied.

"You're coming with us," said Maria, grabbing Marty by the collar and dragging him with her.

"Agreed!" said Aaron. "Sean, what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Sucks," said Sean.

"This place sucks!"

"Now you're talking," said Sean.

Once they were out in the cold, Maria let Marty go. "Dude, what the fuck was that?"

"That machine's broken!" said Sean. "You must have broken it!"

"But—you guys—you—"

"Drop it," said Sean. His face showed he wasn't kidding around. He hated to threaten a friend, but he had to in this case. There was indeed a good reason that Maria initially refused to punch that thing. "Let's just go to Pinch and forget about it. Maybe we'll find some damn cheeseheads we can taunt."

"Okay," said Marty.

Pinch was a little more uneventful, save for the times, Sean and Marty spotted anyone wearing green and gold, the reaction was usually, "GREEN BAY SUCKS!" or some vulgar name-calling. Maria and Aaron just watched, refusing to take part in what they viewed as vulgar behavior. No matter how much Sean tried to explain that Bears-Packers is a matter of life and death they just didn't understand. Eventually Sean decided they'd never learn. Maria blamed it on the alcohol.

"Okay, you two have had enough!" Maria said, getting out of her seat and then nearly fell to the floor.

"And so have you," said Sean. "And it's almost closing time, let's get out of here."

When they came out into the parking lot, Maria stumbled and fell into Sean's body. He caught her, blushing madly. She blushed too, noticing how close she was to him. And despite his inebriation, he could tell she was in no shape to walk to the west side of campus. "Um, w—why d-don't you crash at our place?"

"Hey, I-I can handle myself!" she said drunkenly. She swung a lazy punch at him. "M-maybe I will."

"Hey, O.C., man," said Marty. "I-I'll see you on Sunday, okay?"

"Fine," said Sean. "Jerk."

"Prick." Marty said as he stumbled away. They were about to walk back to Sean and Aaron's apartment when Sean noticed a figure over near Cali's. The figure was familiar and Sean decided to go talk to them. But first,

"Marty!" said Sean. "Why don't you, Maria and Ndebele get some Winston's?" he pointed to Winston's bagel cart across the street. It had a considerable line.

"Okay," said Marty. "What about you?"

"I have something to take care of," Sean said as he walked away. When he was sure they weren't looking, he walked as tall and straight as he could, although he wasn't walking straight most of the time.

"Hello Red Ranger," said the polite male voice outside of the streetlamp.

"Drake," said Sean. The man stepped forward and removed the hood of his cloak. His hair was gold and his green eyes tried to bore in Sean. His white cloak had an Ouroboros symbol on it and it covered his entire body save for the head. "What does the leader of the Ouroboros Society want with me?" asked Sean.

"Is it impossible for me to congratulate you without being treated so rudely?" said Drake.

"You lost any respect I had for you last semester," said Sean. "And we already took out your transmutation circle around the city last month."

"So you did," said Drake. "But I must say you are not considering the 'big picture'."

"Why, what've you got planned?" asked Sean.

"That is for us to know," said Drake, "And for you to discover."

"Are you taunting me or something?" asked Sean.

"Of course not," said Drake. "I simply wished to warn you."

"Thanks a lot," said Sean. "But whatever you and your group have planned, we'll put a stop to it."

"That is what I wanted to hear," said Drake. "And I understand you did a number of Ronald."

"Next time you want to tell us you're still here," said Sean. "Come see us in person instead of sending one of your damn flunkies."

"Now, there's no need for that," said Drake.

"Cut the bullshit, you patronizing asshole," said Sean. "You turned the last Green Ranger against me last semester with your bullshit."

"I sincerely apologize," said Drake. "But it was only business. I must say, you have been the best adversary our small society has had since the French Revolution tried to have us dissolved."

"Glad to hear it," said Sean.

"It's nothing our ancient—"

"You're not ancient," said Sean. "Ancient would be if you dated back to Assyria. You date back to the Renaissance. You're nothing but a bunch of Ren Faire rejects; you and your fake science."

"Only to primitive minds such as—"

"Invoke Clarke's Third Law again and I'll rip your fucking tongue out," said Sean.

"Now, there is no need for such coarse language," said Drake.

"I got tired of hearing that last semester," said Sean.

"I understand," said Drake. "I shall tell my associates to refrain from saying that in the future."

"You'd better," said Sean.

"Is there anything else you wish to tell me?" said Drake.

"Yeah," said Sean. "Like I said, whatever plan you've got up your sleeve, we'll put a stop to it."

"Really now?" said Drake.

"Yeah, we will, wanna know why? We're Power Rangers," Sean said threateningly. "We don't quit, we don't surrender, and most importantly, we don't fucking lose."

"I am glad to hear that," said Drake. "You are indeed a fine adversary."

"And by the way, I'm wondering," said Sean. "I'm unarmed and unmorphed. I'm right here in the middle of the night talking to you. Why don't you just kill me here and right now?"

"Because killing an opponent when he is unarmed and unprepared is truly despicable," said Drake. "That is not how the Ouroboros Society does battle. And besides… you are inebriated."

"Hey, I'm not as think as you drunk I am!" said Sean.

"Yes you are," said Drake. Sean didn't get a word in edgewise as Drake turned around and left. "Adieu, Red Ranger! May we meet again on the field of battle!"

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

Maria woke up the next morning with a slight hangover. It wasn't the worst hangover she ever had though, and she found herself getting out of bed pretty easily. Then she found out it was Sean's bed! She screamed a little bit before she noticed Sean sleeping on the floor.

"Keep it down!" he said, shielding his face. Well this made the situation even worse. Maria screamed again and fell over the bed and landed on Sean, just inches from his face. Both of their faces were bright red and although they actually secretly liked it, screamed and Maria jumped off of him.

"Will you two be quiet!?" Aaron shouted from outside the door. "It's 10 in the morning!"

"Don't scream like that, are you crazy!?" said Sean.

"Don't scream like that, either!" said Maria.

"Neither of you scream like that!" Aaron shouted.

"Hey, shaddap, Ndebele!" said Sean.

"I know you two have hangovers," said Aaron, "But please don't scream like that again!"

"Shut up," said Sean. "And why does it have to be so bright?" The sun was shining off the snow, only making the situation worse.

"Godammit," said Maria.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you enjoy—"

"_SHUT UP, NDEBELE!_" they shouted.

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

The Ouroboros Society's headquarters are secret. But they're not a dark, dingy dungeon as you'd expect. The main transmutation hall is well lit and evidence of past transmutations could be seen, mostly in the form of spent circles. Into this setting came Drake, followed by a man wearing a blue cloak and wearing goggles that obscured his eyes. He was missing an eyebrow, presumably from a failed transmutation. "All the preparations are set in order," said Drake. "Do you have what you need, Neville?"

"Of course I do," said Neville. "I have my materials; all I am required to do is transmute them.

"Excellent," said Drake. He watched Neville draw a transmutation circle in the floor and place his items—a teddy bear and other trinkets—into the circle. He watched as Neville activated the circle in a flash of blue lightning. "Magnificent!" Drake said as he beheld the monster. It was a bear, but not a bulky bear; one more anthropomorphic and sleek, less relying on brute strength.

"Thank you, Drake!" said Neville. "Where shall we send our monster—what is his name; oh yes, Ursalear!"

"Murphysboro," said Drake. "I want to throw the Rangers off our scent."

"At once, leader!" said Neville.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-

_Beep, beep, be-bee-beep, beep, beep!_

"What the hell!?" Sean got up from the couch and looked for his morpher/communicator. He found it and said, "Yes?"

"_We have a monster attacking downtown Murphysboro!_" said the SWORD agent on the other line.

"Murphysboro? Are you fucking kidding me?" said Sean. "You know how far that is?"

"_No_."

"Well, neither do I!" said Sean. "And why there, there's—"

"_Just get out there, that's an order!_" said the Agent. Sean grumbled as he turned the morpher off.

"Damn," said Sean. He got up, stumbling and Maria and Aaron knew things were gonna be bad.

"At least two of us won't have a hangover," said Aaron.

"We're gonna need the Indys," said Sean. "We can't drive there on our own, it will take too long."

"I hate this," said Maria, "And what about Rob?"

"I'll try to call him," said Sean. "But I don't like our chances."

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

Murphysboro is literally just down the road (Main Street which turned into Walnut Street) from Carbondale. It was once a thriving town, but the Tri-State Tornado of 1925 leveled the town and it has not recovered since. Despite that, even with a population of less than 8,000, it is still the seat of Jackson County, Illinois. Murphysboro has also been a center of coal mining in the state of Illinois while its more prosperous (comparatively) neighbor Carbondale has the university. And it just so happens that the author's dad was born and raised in Murphysboro (nothing against the author's dad! I swear!).

Anyway, this small town came under attack on a Saturday morning in January. Ursalear and several upgraded Mannequins appeared out of nowhere and frightened the small town residents and sent them running for their lives. "ATTACK!" Ursalear shouted as the Mannequins fanned out and assaulted the main drag, Walnut Street.

It didn't take too long for the Rangers to arrive, fully morphed and driving colored Indy Car-shaped Indys (hence their name). Sean, Maria and Aaron stumbled out of their cars while Hitomi and Kevin got out just fine. "Alright, let's get these guys!" said Sean, "And make it quick, my head hurts!"

"_Right!_" they said and they too fanned out to fight.

Kevin did not gout drinking last night, so he wasn't hung over. He punched a Mannequin, grabbed its neck and drove it into a horde of them, their armor scraping all over the place. He ducked, blocked, punched another one, and then kicked it in the chin. The MMA middleweight rolled under several Mannequins and jumped up, kicking several in the plate armor that they wore. One swung its sword at him; he blocked it, then pulled it into him and elbowed it right in the jaw.

Hitomi flipped over several of the upgraded Mannequins—armed with sword and fitted with armor—and landed on the shoulders of one and covered its eye. Even if this Mannequin is less zombie-like than the original, it still can't see. The Mannequins attacked, Hitomi jumped off and they killed the Mannequin she jumped on. Then she jumped all over the place, kicking at Mannequins as if she was on a pommel horse and took out as many Mannequins as she could.

Sean, on the other hand, well, the effects of the hangover had gotten worse and he had a hard time fighting. The sun shone off a Mannequin's helmet. "Fuck, not so bright!" The Mannequin threw a punch at him. He blocked it and countered with a jab to the jaw. He spun around and kicked several Mannequins in the head. He stumbled and kicked another one, then punched it in the jaw and bashed it in the head. Then, when he had enough, he pulled out his Octane Blaster and started shooting.

Maria had it just as bad, as her headache was making it hard to fight. She threw an errant punch at a Mannequin that was blocked and returned. She stumbled backwards when her in-helmet HUD alerted her to one coming from behind. She jumped, flipped and landed as the Mannequin collided with her first opponent. Then she gave one a swift kick in the chin, grabbed one and tossed into a pile of Mannequins. He felt one bit her arm but she spun the tire on her glove and sent the Mannequin flying.

A Mannequin threw a punch right at Aaron. He bent over backwards Matrix-style and retaliated with a headbutt. His hangover wasn't as bad as Sean and Maria's so he was fighting better. He got on his hands and started spin-kicking at the Mannequins like he was break-dancing. He hopped on a mailbox like a _parkour _and jumped off to kick on in the face. He ducked at a Mannequin's punch and kicked it in the stomach, then got down and swept several Mannequins off their feet.

"You do realize bears aren't native to these parts, right?" Sean asked, ignoring his own love for the Chicago Bears as he charged Ursalear. He punch, spun and reverse roundhouse kicked Ursalear. Ursalear dodged the punch and blocked the kick, then countered with a swipe of his paw. Sean ducked and countered with an uppercut. He could tell he was smarter and more agile than the average bear (apologies to Yogi).

Ursalear punched as Sean. He blocked it and jabbed him back. The punch hit! Ursalear didn't react much and kneed him in the stomach. Sean doubled over, the wind knocked out of him and his headache got even worse now. Then Ursalear elbowed him in the back.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

The Strategic Worldwide Organization for Reconnaissance and Defense (SWORD) is headquartered in a highly classified location and they are the ones behind Project Ranger; a Project with origins in the Korean War to train kids since they were kids until they could be called on to defend Earth from threats both foreign and domestic, terrestrial and extraterrestrial. Right now, the Project Ranger control room is going crazy as they monitor the situation.

"What's wrong with O'Callahan?" asked Tom Maelstrom, the Samuel L. Jackson-as-Nick Fury-look-a-like who leads SWORD, "And Aparicio and Ndebele?"

"I'm not sure, I'm running an in-suit diagnosis," said one agent. "Symptoms include photosensitivity, phonophobia, headaches, and… nausea."

"Oh dear," said Maelstrom. "Anything else?"

"Analysis of their breath indicates traces amounts of… alcohol."

"DAMMIT!" Maelstrom shouted. "Can you believe this?"

"Calm down, it's not as bad as it looks," said another voice. An African-American colonel stepped into the light; Col. Alan Greene, the liaison between SWORD and the Pentagon for Project Ranger. "They're college students, what do you expect? In fact, part of the whole idea was that we would let them grow into normal people and they seem to have done that."

"I don't want alcoholic Rangers," said Maelstrom. "This has got to stop now."

"It's only the first time," said Col. Greene. "I don't see this becoming a problem. But just in case, we should tell them not to get hangovers again."

"They'd better not," said Maelstrom. "And where the hell is Jackson?"

"He's making a traffic stop!" said one agent.

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"Maria, are you okay?" Hitomi asked after Maria stumbled after hitting a Mannequin in the jaw.

"I'm fine _chica,_" said Maria. "I'm just a little tired from last night."

"At least you're not hungover!" Kevin said while throwing a Mannequin to the ground. Maria growled and went back to fighting Mannequins.

Aaron was helping Kevin take out some of the armored/armed Mannequins. He had a Mannequin by the throat and Kevin finished it off, punching it in the jaw. At the same time, Maria and Hitomi started working together as they usually do. Maria punched a Mannequin and left it up to Hitomi. She twirled and kicked it in the jaw.

Aaron was helping some civilians get to safety when he noticed Sean was still fighting Ursalear. "Kevin!" he shouted, pointing at the Red Ranger. Kevin stopped punching a Mannequin and made a break for Sean, only to be stopped by more Mannequins. He cursed and started fighting them.

Ursalear threw a punch that Sean blocked. Then he kicked Sean out of the way and drew a circle on a street lamp post. Sean tried to rush him but he transmuted a sword with the post, giving him an evil smile. Sean just smiled and pressed the button on his belt buckle. The insignia on his chest projected a sword in front of him and Sean grabbed it out of the air. "Looks good, huh?" he said. "I asked them to make it look exactly like the Master Sword from _Twilight Princess_… The 'Zelda' game! Well, save for the red color and the uh, wing thingies."

"No, I just think the author's unoriginal and can't design his own sword!" Ursalear shouted, thrusting his blade at Sean. Sean parried and took a swipe at Ursalear. Then he swung downwards and their blades met. Ursalear threw Sean off, but Sean attacked again. He thrust the sword at Ursalear, just grazing the bear's left arm. "I thought you had a hangover!" said the bear.

"I do!" said Sean. "It's just not as bad as you think!"

Maria summoned her main weapons, the Haz Daggers. She took one and tossed it at a Mannequin, hitting it right in the throat. She jumped up, pulled the dagger out of the throat and jumped in the air. When she came down, she thrust the daggers into the eyes of two Mannequins. "Hitomi!"

Hitomi drew the arrow of her Am Bow and let it loose. The bow hit the Mannequin in the throat. Then she drew another arrow and with the opening, fired at Ursalear.

Ursalear had Sean on the pavement when Hitomi's arrow struck. The bear monster (which, by the way, is not even a real flesh-and-blood creature) screamed in pain. Then Maria jumped up and thrust her dagger into the bear's back. "Get off of me!" growled Ursalear.

Now Sean had a chance. He got up and threw a hard left hook at Ursalear's face and then wound up his leg, and gave Ursalear a mighty roundhouse kick to the gut. "NOW I'm feeling better!" he said.

Of course, the others were not going to let him fight alone. Kevin summoned his weapon, the Touring Rifle and shot Ursalear a couple of times. "Oh, yeah, _now _you guys come and help me!"

"Shut up, Sean!" said Kevin. He whacked Ursalear in the head with the butt of his rifle.

"Not this again," Sean muttered. He looked up and saw Aaron jumping over his head and kicking Ursalear in the face.

"Are you sure this thing is another Mannequin?" asked Maria as she helped him up.

"They said they couldn't create flesh-and-blood living things or something like that," said Sean. "That's all I'm aware of."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," said Maria. "They said alchemy can't create living things and it's taboo among alchemists." The author might as well establish some rules for this story's alchemy (even if it is inspired by the alchemy system in Fullmetal Alchemist). "I didn't think they had morals."

"I think they're lying," said Sean. He charged Ursalear and gave the bear a slash. Sparks flew from the bear and Sean punched it in the face again. Then Maria threw her dagger at Ursalear. Ursalear caught the dagger and threw it back. Maria dodged it and let it hit a mailbox.

Hitomi jumped onto the Jackson County Courthouse steps. Ursalear found her and charged her. She kicked him in the forehead. He stumbled backwards, and Aaron grabbed him, turned him around and socked him in the jaw. The he noticed Sean charging up his sword. "GT STRIKE!" He sped forward and slashed Ursalear, sending sparks flying. However, Ursalear was not done yet, and that only meant one thing. "Time to finish this!" said Sean. "Get your AcceleKeys out!"

They got their keys out and pressed small, unnoticeable buttons on their weapons. A key hole opened up in those weapons. "Supercharge!" he said. They jammed the keys in, gave them a twist. Their weapons began to glow and readied their attack. "FIRE!"

"Lightning Throw!" Maria shouted, throwing her daggers.

"Turbo Blast!" Kevin shouted, shooting his rifle.

Aaron just pulled the trigger on his Octane Blaster, the Rangers' fuel pump nozzle-shaped standard issue blaster.

"Energy Shot!" Hitomi shouted, firing her bow.

Sean lifted his sword in the air (purely for dramatic effect) and shouted, "GT STRIKE!" and swung his sword. All their attacks hit, sending sparks flying and Ursalear fell to the ground and exploded.

In the fiery remains, they found stuffing and other materials; hardened clay, the material required to make a Mannequin. "Look at this," Sean said holding something up.

"A teddy bear?" asked Hitomi. In Sean's hands was the partially-charred teddy bear head. "That's so sad. Do you think some child might be able to use it?"

"Its body is strewn about," said Maria. "It doesn't look like it can be saved.

"That teddy bear was able to use alchemy," said Sean. "The other monsters couldn't."

"What does that mean?" asked Kevin.

"It means things are going to get tougher," said Sean.

"I think we need a seventh Ranger," said Kevin. Sean looked at him.

"We already have six," said Sean.

"But Rob couldn't show up," said Kevin. "We need someone else."

"We'll see," said Sean. "Let's get out of here before the cops show up."

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

Sean, Maria and Aaron got a talking to about fighting with a hangover later on. They agreed to do so, but couldn't promise anything. Later that night, Sean went to Pinch Penny Pub where he found Marty sitting at the island bar, watching WSIL news. Sean got in right in time to see a story about his fight.

"You see this?" asked Marty.

"Yeah," said Sean, "Pretty crazy."

"What do you think?" asked Marty.

"I don't know," said Sean. "What do you think?"

"I think they're awesome dude," he said. Sean laughed and toasted to the Rangers with Marty.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

End chapter

So how was that? I got some good complaints about the last chapter, specifically how they became Rangers, so I alluded to that in the chapter, and I mentioned how they became Rangers and I'll allude to their origins more in the following chapters, and I got a complaint about how the fight scene was underwhelming. I hope this fight scene was good, I got my fingers crossed!

Anyway, the story was partially inspired by Fullmetal Alchemist, although it's not a "Take That" (as TV Tropes puts it) against the show, as I will gladly admit, I _love _that anime. So the alchemy system is inspired by the system in FMA and I'll try to stick to it as much as possible.

And no, when I had Ursalear attacking my dad's hometown, it was _not _a slight against my dad_, _I swear!

Also, I'm still trying to finalize the Ouroboros Society's plan, but I might need a little help and I'm open to suggestions. If you have any ideas/suggestions, either tell me in your review or PM me and I'll consider it.

Feedback is appreciated!


	3. Grab the Bull by the Horns

Power Rangers GPX SIU episode 3: Grab the Bull by the Horns

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"Um, is Sean okay?" Hitomi asked while Sean sulked on one end of the table at the Student Center the next Monday.

"I'm not sure," said Maria. "He looks kind of depressed."

"That's because the Bears lost yesterday," Rob said, interrupting their conversation (while still dressed in his SIU police uniform).

"Oh," said Hitomi. "Is that bad?"

"It's very bad," said Rob. "I would suggest not going anywhere near him for a while, he needs to be left alone. Don't say anything about that loss. In fact, don't say anything to me or anyone else today, either."

"It's just a game," said Maria.

"It's more than that," said Rob. "It's kind of like how soccer is big in Brazil."

"Oh," said Maria. "Now it makes sense."

"I'll probably have to keep the Packer fans away from the Bears fans," said Rob, "I don't want any trouble."

"Good luck," said Maria. "I think I saw more green than blue." Rob cursed and left, giving Sean a tap on the shoulder. He replied weakly.

"Should we—"

"Just leave him alone," said Maria. "That's how I look after seeing Flamengo lose."

"But you're Venezuelan," said Hitomi, "Oh, you've been living in Brazil. _Gomen nasai_."

"_Esta bien_," replied Maria.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

After the lecture class that afternoon, even Kevin noticed Sean's mood, but did not say anything about it. Whenever Sean was in a bad mood, usually the best remedy was to leave him alone. Plus, Kevin had other things to worry about, like what Professor McDonald was going to say about his skipping out on office hours on Tuesday. Okay, enough of that. Kevin had more important things to worry about, like his work with Professor McDonald. "Did you do anything this weekend?" another TA (Teaching Assistant) asked.

"No," said Kevin. "I was too busy with grad school work."

"Oh," said the other TA. "Still sucks that you got transferred out of your section, though."

"It's no big deal," said Kevin. "I didn't want to be teaching that particular section anyway."

"I was afraid you'd have to go in front of a conduct review board," said the other TA as the two walked out of the hall. "I guess Professor McDonald thought it wasn't worth it."

"I asked to be transferred," said Kevin. "The pay dock was his idea."

"That sucks," said the other TA.

"It's sad that Kevin can't be our TA, right?" Maria asked a depressed Sean while the two walked out of class. He didn't answer. "But I guess it's fine anyway. We can't have him getting in trouble for unprofessional behavior." No answer. Then Maria remembered something Rob told her; the best way to get Sean to feel better is to remind him there's still the Bulls and Hawks.

"What do you think of the Bulls?" she asked. He looked at her and shrugged.

"I think they've got something good this year," he said.

"He speaks!" she said with mock jubilation.

"Shut up!"

"Well it got you to talk!" she said.

"Is that what you were trying to do?"

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Whatever," he said. "Just don't say anything about yesterday."

"I'm not going to," she said. "We have some time off, do you want to go to the library?" he stopped and looked at her like she just said something weird.

"Huh?"

She pointed to Morris Library as if she thought he was being an idiot. "I know what you're talking about!" he said, "I just want to know why."

"No reason," she said with a giggle. Sean shook his head. "We can study there."

"Fine," he said. "Might as well."

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"I am getting very weary of these delays, Cedric," Drake said to his second-in-command. Cedric stood across from Drake's desk, looking very nervous as he tried to explain things, wiping his black hair out of his forehead. "Tell me now why I should not relieve you of your duty."

"We cannot have a set timeline," said Cedric, "Especially when the Rangers get involved, like they did last December."

"Ah, yes," said Drake. "Either way, the other members are getting restless and want me to terminate our project if we do not finish on time."

"Yes, I understand," said Cedric. "But the Rangers, SWORD, FBI and local authorities have undermined our plans."

"And yet they are still nowhere near figuring out our plans," said Drake. "That gives us the advantage. But do not think I am letting you 'off the hook', as the slang term says, any time soon. I want this project done by May at the latest."

"I shall see," said Cedric. "But I can make no promises."

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

"How about this one?" Maria asked, picking out a movie in Morris Library.

"_I Am Curious Yellow_?" he asked. "Why do you want to see that?"

"Because it's such a good movie!" she said, "And because—" she leaned in and whispered in his ear, which made him blush ten shades of red.

"You pervert!" He whisper-shouted.

"I am a modern woman in touch with her sexuality!" she said. "What's wrong with seeing that stuff?"

"I'm just wondering if that's the only thing you like about it," said Sean. "I know you like the romantic stuff, but for the most part, you're not going to find anything. Most of the stuff that could be considered quote, 'romantic' are about affairs."

"Yeah, I don't like that," said Maria. "What do you think?"

"Maybe _Castle of Cagliostro_," said Sean. "Or some _Indiana Jones _stuff."

"No," said Maria. "Maybe I could just watch some of Hitomi's anime… if only I could understand it."

"Yeah, good luck with that," said Sean.

"Maybe we could find something about alchemy here," said Maria.

"Good luck with that," said Sean. "I already looked on the website, I didn't find anything."

"Nothing?"

"Well, the Carbondale library probably has something," said Sean. "And maybe there's something at Barnes & Noble over near University Mall. I think Bridge might find something at B&N, because she likes to go over to that part of town."

"She'd do that for you?"

"Maybe, I don't know," said Sean. "I'll have to ask, and she'll probably wonder why."

"Maybe there's someone on campus," said Maria, "Although that's very unlikely."

"Looks like FMA will have to do for reference," said Sean.

"For now, anyway," said Maria.

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

Part of the problem of being a Power Ranger is the constant waiting for an enemy attack. As the Rangers are unaware of the location of the Ouroboros Society or what their plans are, this can sometimes be a while. In the mean time, they can fill up their time by going to SIU Salukis athletic events, even though the basketball team is crap circa 2011, despite a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the 2007 NCAA men's basketball tournament (non-American readers can consult Wikipedia for reference).

The Dawg Pound, SIU's student section, was once the most intimidating student section in the Missouri Valley Conference, but bad times have turned the Dawg Pound from loud and proud to quiet and sad. The author himself was forced to watch this transformation from year to year.

SIU Arena was half-filled for SIU's game against Wichita State out of Wichita (DUH!), Kansas. The Salukis (it's a dog, BTW) and Shockers used to be rivals during the middle of the decade, but ever since Saluki basketball went into decline, the Shockers have turned the rivalry one-sided.

The fight song was playing after the Saluki starting line-up was introduced. For reasons related to copyright, the official lyrics will not be printed, but instead these parody lyrics that are quite popular among SIU students, as sung by Sean, Maria, Aaron and Hitomi:

"_Go, Southern go,  
__That's all the words we know,  
__Go Southern go,  
__That's all the words we know  
__Come on and  
__Show, Southern show,  
__That's all the words we know,  
__Something, something, something now,  
__Something, something, something,  
__GO! Southern go!_"

"Why do they sing that?" asked Hitomi.

"Don't ask," said Sean. With the Saluki pep band providing the beat, the crowd stomped and clapped for the tip-off, which SIU won. The Salukis took the ball up the court but failed to score and the Shockers scored on their ensuing possession. SIU did not score for 3 minutes and it wasn't until the Senegalese center's lay-up that the Salukis were able to score and the crowd could sit down, save for some of the students.

"I don't want to sit down!" said Hitomi. "I'm going to get behind our team!"

"Yeah, good luck with that," said Sean.

The Salukis played hard, but the Shockers were better. They passed better, shot better, defended better and got all the rebounds while the Salukis could not get their shots off. It was just another bad game for the Salukis, and this was only the first half.

Rob was off-duty and decided to go to the game with Bridget (Sean's older sister) and their daughters, three-year-old Allie and baby Cassie. Cassie was squirming in Bridget's lap while Rob tried to explain the game of basketball to Allie. "You're persistent," Bridget said, pushing some of her brown hair behind her ear.

"I try," Rob said, rubbing his short, dark-blond hair.

"Is this seat taken?" a voice interrupted their conversation.

"Kevin, hello!" said Bridget, a young woman about 26. "No, that seat is not taken, so ahead!"

"How are we doing?" he asked.

"Badly," said Bridget. She had some of the same bluntness Sean had.

"Ouch," said Kevin.

"So what is it like being a TA?" asked Rob.

"It's stressful, but I like it" said Kevin. "If I mess up, then I get a bad lecture from Professor McDonald or some student gets the wrong grade. There's a lot of pressure to get things right."

"I think you'll do okay," said Bridget.

"Kevin, why don't we get some snacks?" said Rob.

"But I just ate—" Kevin didn't get a word in edgewise as Rob picked him up and dragged him into the concourse. "Why did we just leave?"

"We can come back if we have our tickets," said Rob as he led Kevin to a secluded spot outside the arena. "Any progress with the… you know?"

Kevin wasn't sure what Rob was talking about until it hit him. "We had a fight Saturday in Murphysboro. Other than that, no."

"I had a little training with the Carbondale Police last week," said Rob. "I wanted to talk to Chief Granger, but he just blew me off about the Ranger fights, even the transmutation circle we destroyed."

"What do you mean?" asked Kevin. "Why would he be uninterested?"

"I don't know," said Rob. "For all I can guess, he's already busy with ordinary crime in Carbondale."

"Or maybe he thinks SIU police are beneath him," Kevin joked. Rob was not laughing.

"He respects Marines like me," said Rob. "I just don't understand this."

"I think we should focus on the Ouroboros Society," said Kevin. "We can't worry about the police chief."

"I suppose so," said Rob. "And how come you haven't been spending time with Sean?"

"I'm a TA," said Kevin. "I have to be professional, after all. I transferred myself out of his class for that reason."

"I see," said Rob. "Fine, then. By the way, if you want tickets, Bridge works for the Athletic Department, so she can hook you up."

"Thanks Rob," said Kevin.

"Don't mention it."

"COME ON, WHERE'S THE FOUL, REF!?" Sean shouted from the Dawg Pound. "Man, the league hates our guts!"

"Is that true," said Maria, "Or is it persecution complex?"

"It could be both," said Sean. "OH, COME ON, ASSHOLE!"

"You stink, ref!" Hitomi shouted, making Sean double over in laughter.

"I can't say I'm surprised," said Maria, "Considering she's around you so much."

"Yeah, but you're already around me a lot," said Sean. "And she's around you more often. What's she getting from _you_?"

"_¿Por qué no te callas?_" she replied.

"Well, what is she getting from you?" Sean persisted.

"Both of you SHUT UP!" someone from the crowd shouted. Even an SIU Arena usher had come near them and even though he didn't say anything, was clearly not happy with their behavior tonight.

"Fuck it," said Sean.

"Look at those two," Rob said after swallowing some of his pizza, "Are they ever going to stop arguing?"

"Might as well get it out of the way," said Bridget. No one there understood what she meant.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

"Cedric, how are the plans proceeding?" asked Drake.

"It is proceeding on schedule," said Cedric, reading off a report. "But we will still need time to complete it and keep the Rangers away."

"You keep saying that," said Drake. "I told you, we have a tight schedule. But if we need to keep the Rangers away, Neville will secure that objective. I shall discuss this with him immediately."

"Yes, Drake," said Cedric.

"However, do not let up with your mission," said Drake. "I may be an affable man, but I will not tolerate failure, so you understand?"

"Yes, Drake," said Cedric.

"Neville!" Drake called.

"What is it Drake?" Neville asked, poking his head out of his laboratory.

"I need a monster to unleash upon the Rangers," said Drake. "Can you have one ready?"

"It will be a while," said Neville. "But I have been checking in with our contacts. So far, the Rangers are none the wiser."

"That is good news," said Drake. "Take your time."

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"I think I know why Americans are so fat," Maria said when she got a look at the pizza at Quatro's. This earned a look from Sean.

"You wanted to come here," he said. He took a piece of the pan pizza, some of the cheese stretching.

"But that was before I saw this stuff," said Maria.

"You don't have to eat it!" Sean replied. "Eat your salad if that's all you're going to eat!"

"Maybe I will!" she said, stuffing her mouth with lettuce.

"How un-ladylike," he said. "Oh well, all the more for me." She paused and took a slice of the pizza, giving him a glare all the while. He chuckled and looked out over the Thursday night scene at the Campus Shopping Center. Seven-Ten Bookstore was closed and he could see the Brush Towers in the distance.

"Wow, real smooth," Aaron said from the table next to theirs. Sean replied with a prominently displayed finger. Hitomi ignored them, blissfully eating her pizza slice. "Is that all you have to say?" asked Aaron. Sean extended a finger on his other hand in response. "I guess not."

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

Neville had his materials and went down to the Transmutation Room. He set up his materials within the circle. Drake watched while Neville stepped out of the circle and activated it. The circle began to glow as the materials—a bull beanie baby and some clay—merged together. When the process was done, a minotaur-like monster stood before them.

"Outstanding work, as usual, Neville," said Drake. "What shall we call him?"

"Minotoro," said Neville.

"Not the most creative moniker, but it works nonetheless," said Drake. "Very well then; Do you want the armored Mannequins or the standard Mannequins?"

"The armored Mannequins," said Neville. "I am getting quite tired of the Rangers always destroying my creations."

"Not before _I _destroy them!" said Minotoro.

"He is spirited!" said Drake. "And one more thing; I want you to bring Ronald with you."

"Ronald!? Why?" asked Minotoro.

"He has been getting restless and I do not want him to destroy headquarters," said Drake. "You might as well take him out. And, it will give you a numerical advantage over the Rangers, something he might be happy about."

"I _know _he will happy about that," said Neville. "Ronald, come to the Transmutation room!"

Ronald did so, still dressed for battle and eating some barbecue (where did he get it from?) chicken. "What is it?" he asked.

"You are to accompany Minotoro to Carbondale," said Drake. "And battle the Rangers.

"With another monster? HA!" Ronald replied. "Are you kiddin' me? He'll just be blown up like the other—"

"You will be there to provide a numerical advantage," said Drake. Ronald thought about that for a moment and then his mouth spread in a sadistic grin.

"YES!" He shouted. "When do we leave?"

"We shall teleport you to Illinois Avenue in Carbondale, immediately!" said Drake. "Now then, I must find Bellatrix, she must be getting bored herself. Oh, and take the armored Mannequins with you."

"Gladly!" said Ronald as he and Minotoro stood in the transmutation circle. Neville made some changes and activated the circle. The two phased out like in _Star Trek_.

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"… And Marty, he's flippin' out, he thinks he's just condemned his ass, he thinks Rob's gonna kill him, and we're all trying to keep from laughing and trying to look dead serious, but it was just so funny, and Johnny just couldn't hold it in."

"So what happened next?" asked Maria.

"Marty heard him," said Sean, "And he gets a look at all of us, and he realizes we're fuckin' with him and he looks at the model and he realizes, it's not Rob's, it's his!"

"And then what?" asked Hitomi.

"He turns to us and he says, 'fuck you'!"

Just then, they heard a _BANG_ that shook the restaurant and interrupted their conversation. They all looked around, stunned, until they realized there was only one thing that could cause that bang. It also happened when they got their check. "You're paying for all of this, right?" Aaron asked.

"Hey, you're paying for your shit!" Sean replied as they ran up to the payment window and dumped exact change on the counter as did Aaron. The person at the counter could only accept their money and the two were out the door following the ladies.

They ducked around the side of the strip mall building, making sure no one was looking. "Okay, let's do this!" Sean said. They covered their faces and ripped a patch off their jackets, revealing their number-over-tire insignias. "LET'S GO!"

Nicknamed "The Strip", Illinois Avenue is the main drag in Carbondale and is named for all the bars and restaurants frequented by SIU students. The Strip is usually hopping on Saturdays, but tonight it's hopping, too (I already said SIU is a party school, didn't I?). And that's when Ronald, Minotoro and a company of armored Mannequins appeared. A police officer pulled out his gun but a Mannequin jumped up and bit him in the neck. Bar goers ducked inside the bars for cover.

"Where are you, Rangers?" Ronald growled. Suddenly, he noticed the soles of a New Balance shoe approaching. He ducked and the shoe made contact with Minotoro's face.

"Great, first a bear, now a bull," the figure said when he landed. "Is someone fucking with me?"

"Red Ranger!" said Ronald. He sounded happy.

"Oh, great," said Sean. The others caught up to him.

"Where's the Blue Ranger?" asked Ronald.

"He's not here yet!" said Sean. "Maybe in a couple of minutes."

"Forget it!" said Minotoro. "Get them!" The Mannequins charged the unmorphed Rangers.

Sean knocked a Mannequin aside, spun and elbowed a Mannequin in the back of the neck. He ducked, caught a Mannequin's forearm and twisted the arm around. He kicked a Mannequin that had snuck up behind him, and used that same leg to knee a Mannequin in the gut. He ducked and tossed a Mannequin to the side.

A Mannequin lunged for him, but Aaron jumped on top of a fire hydrant, and kicked the Mannequin in the head. A Mannequin's sword came close to chopping off his legs, but he jumped up and stomped on the Mannequin. He punched a Mannequin in the face, jumped around and kicked a Mannequin in the face.

Maria jumped on top of the 710 Bookstore building and then leapt onto a group of Mannequins. She kept in the air for a couple moments before landing and blocking a Mannequin kick with her leg and then reverse roundhouse kicked a Mannequin in the cheek bone. She ducked and then flipped over several Mannequins.

Several Mannequins watched while Hitomi jumped over them. She landed and kicked on in the gut. She twirled to dodge the attacks and punched two simultaneously. She ducked and spun on her hands to know several off their feet, popped up and blocked a chop with her forearm. Then she countered with a jab to the face.

Minotoro and Ronald braced themselves when Sean ran up to them. He leapt in the air and tried to kick Ronald in the face, but then his danger senses kicked in; he was unmorphed and double teamed. So instead of kicking Ronald in the face and starting the fight, he vaulted off Minotoro's head and flipped backwards several yards before landing what he hoped was a good 20 yards away, enough room to morph.

Meanwhile, the Strip had been cleared of people and the others joined up with him. "We got room," he said. "We gotta morph."

"But Kevin—"

"NOW!" said Sean. He didn't get to say anything when another figure came out of nowhere and attacked Minotoro and Ronald before joining the Rangers. "About time you got here," said Sean.

"Can you blame me?" asked Kevin. "I live in Neely!"

"Well the gang's all here anyway," said Sean. The Mannequins charged them to catch them of guard. "Let's do this! READY!?"

"_READY!_"

"_GPX, START IT UP!_" They jammed the AcceleKeys into the AcceleMorphers and morphed in a flash of light right before the Mannequins could get to them and they were met with five fists.

"LET'S DO THIS!" Sean cried. They pressed their belt buckles and their weapons materialized in front of them. They grabbed their weapons and attacked.

In probably one of the worst timings one could imagine, and it was simply not his fault, Marty McAuliffe had the bad luck of being at Wise Guys Pizza on West College St, near the intersection of Illinois Ave and West College and right across from Sidetracks and next to the train tracks. He was trapped in this small pizza store with several other patrons and people who escaped the melee right before the Rangers showed up. He was huddled behind the counter with several employees and patrons. They had locked the door (it's folly but you might as well try) in hopes the bad guys would go away.

When they heard the sounds of a fight outside, they began to wonder what was going on… again. Marty, in all his infinite wisdom, got out from behind the counter. "What the fuck are you doing!?" said one employee. Marty was not listening. He unlocked the door and opened it.

And found himself face-to-face with a Mannequin.

The Mannequin screamed and so did Marty. The Mannequin lunged at Marty, but Marty reacted, punching the Mannequin in the face and knocking it back out onto the street.

Then, the Mannequin screamed again and a sword blade stuck right through the Mannequin's chest. Then the blade retracted and then decapitated the Mannequin. It was then Marty found himself face-to-face with the Red Ranger himself. "Don't go anywhere," he said. "Just get back behind that counter." Marty didn't need any further advice, but before he did, he looked down and shuddered at the green blood coming out of the Mannequin.

Kevin fired a couple of shots at a Mannequin and then grabbed one in the collar and shoved it to the ground and shot it in the head. He used the butt of his rifle to whack a Mannequin in the head. He noticed Sean decapitating a Mannequin before going back to his work. He wound up and punched another one and then felt a slash to his back, kicking the perpetrator in retaliation.

Across the street, Aaron and Sean (who'd just joined up with him) were tag-teaming a squad of Mannequins. Sean nudged a Mannequin at Aaron who chopped it down with his Mountain Axe. Then the two swung their blades at a Mannequin and dismembered it. Sean thrust his blade into the chest of a Mannequin and Aaron finished it off by decapitating it. Sean drew his sword and noticed Ronald and Minotoro getting ready to attack the rest of the city.

"Let's get 'em!" Sean shouted as he and Aaron made a break for Ronald and Minotoro. But Aaron was stopped by some Mannequins while Sean was stopped by Ronald.

It was the same problem with Maria and Hitomi. They thought they had their Mannequins taken care of, but they were again surrounded. Instead of complaining, they went to work, Maria hacking away at the Mannequins and Hitomi shooting them with her arrows. Maria thrust her Daggers in the neck of a Mannequin. Hitomi drew her bow and shot the Mannequin in the head.

Sean was outclassed by the double-teamed Ronald and Minotaur. Minotaur had a bag halberd while Ronald just transmuted the pavement to create a big rock club. "Oh, fuck," said Sean, right as Ronald clubbed him. He skidded across the pavement, stopping right in front of Wise Guys. He could see Marty looking out the door, but he ignored him and grabbed his Octane Blaster, letting off a couple of shots. Unfortunately, Minotaur used his big halberd to block his shots. "Dammit, where the hell is Rob?" he muttered to himself.

He charged Ronald and Minotoro again. Ronald blocked his attack with his club. "I'm going to enjoy smashing you to a pulp!" said Ronald.

"Sorry to disappoint!" Sean replied, throwing Ronald off of him. He—suddenly, he felt the wind knocked out of him. He backed up, holding his gut and seeing Minotoro retracing his fist, looking just as sadistic as Ronald, holding his halberd to his neck.

Luckily for Sean, he didn't get so much as a pre-mortem one-liner in before sparks flew from him. Sean was hopeful, and he sighed in relief when he saw who it was. "What was it this, time, Silver?" he asked.

"Tampon run," said Rob, dressed in his Silver Ranger costume. It was just like the other Rangers' suits, but the pants were black, the rings were gold and, well, his color was silver. "I'll take care of Ronald," said Rob. He turned his Silver Blaster into his Silver Blade and attacked Ronald.

Sean prepared himself and made a "Bring it" gesture at Minotoro. Minotoro snorted, stomped on the ground and charged Sean. Sean grabbed Minotoro by horns. The wheels on his boots spun and his soles screeched like tires as he tried to keep the bull still. Compounding his problem, a freight train began to approach from the north and Sean was right on the tracks. He grit his teeth and pushed Minotoro off the tracks right before the crossing gate came down.

It was then a streak of blue came out of nowhere and tackled Minotoro. Kevin got off Minotoro and let Aaron come in and swing his axe. Their axe blades ground together, Minotoro gaining an upper hand quickly, but then he suddenly bellowed in pain. Maria drew her dagger from Minotoro's back and when Minotoro turned around, she reverse roundhouse kicked him in the gut. Hitomi got in the act, thrusting her Am Staff (a pink _naginata_) in Minotoro's face and then slashed him in the chest.

Meanwhile, Rob and Ronald were locked in single combat in the corner parking lot next to the Country Goddess store. Ronald was shoving Rob backwards and he almost found himself against the wall but ducked out of the way. Ronald took a big cut with his newly-transmuted sword but Rob ducked and got a look at the store. "Huh; Bridge would like this place," he said. Then he stood up and thrust his blade at Ronald.

Even though he was a relative rookie (he was not one of the kids trained by SWORD to become Power Rangers), he was still a Marine reservist and practitioner in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program. Yeah, he's got _some_ skills. Their blades clashed and sparks flew, their battle of almost equal (Ronald is actually better than Rob) skill.

But Rob found an opening, throwing Ronald's sword off and slashed at Ronald. Sparks flew and Ronald screamed. "Silver Strike!" The Silver Blade began to glow and Rob took a cut at Ronald. Ronald screamed and teleported away before anything else could happen.

Sean locked blades with Minotoro and elbowed him in the head. Kevin shot Minotoro and then Aaron took a big cut out of him. Maria stabbed the monster and so did Hitomi. Minotoro staggered away and then bellowed in pain when Rob took a big cut out of him.

"LET'S DO THIS!" Sean shouted. His blade started to glow and he and Aaron charged Minotoro. "GT STRIKE!"

"Turbo Blast!" shouted Kevin.

"Tornado Spin!" shouted Aaron. Their attacks hit Minotoro but he was still standing.

"Lightning Throw!" shouted Maria.

"Super Slash!" shouted Hitomi.

"Silver Strike!" said Rob. Their attacks hit too and a shower of sparks erupted from Minotoro. But he was still not done.

"Let's finish this!" said Sean. "SUPERCHARGE!" They got out their AcceleKeys and jammed them into their weapons. Rob just changed his sword into a gun again and pressed a button. Their weapons charged up and they prepared to strike. "DO IT!"

They all unleashed their attacks, save for Sean. Their attacks hit and Minotoro erupted in sparks. Sean raised his sword in the air (again, just for dramatic effect) "GT STRIKE!" He swung his sword and that did the trick, the beam hitting Minotoro and making him fall to the ground and explode.

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

"NOT AGAIN!" Neville cried, slamming his fists on his desk. "At least I can take solace in the events to come," he said, a grin on his face.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

"Well that's done," said Sean. "So what took you?" he asked Rob.

"I told you," said Rob. "Tampons."

"Is it Bridge's… time?" asked Maria.

"Unfortunately," said Rob.

"Then you'd better get going," said Sean. "And so should we!" The cops were coming and the Rangers scattered.

And at the same time, Marty was watching from Wise Guys, amazed at what he'd just seen. Little did he know…

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

End chapter

Okay, how was that? Was it any good? Tell me if I made any mistakes.

Regarding the fight song, yeah, a lot of people did sing it that way, but they only did it because college students are smartasses sometimes.


	4. Park Rangers

Power Rangers GPX SIU episode 4: Park Rangers

:-:-:-:Power Rangers, G-P, G-P-X, GO!:-:-:-:

Later that night, they would gather at Sean and Aaron's apartment. They had decided earlier in the day to make contact with their helper and they'd do it tonight. After they'd escaped from the fight, Maria and Hitomi walked to the east side of campus where some students were getting ready to go out for the night. They ignored them. The fate of the region—and possibly the world—is at stake here.

Maria got off the phone with Sean as the two walked up to Wall & Grand, where he and Aaron had their apartment. Sean would be down in a few minutes to take them up to his apartment. They waited a moment for someone to open the door (getting into SIU Housing requires a key fob for security reasons) and came inside. After a couple of minutes, Sean came down. "There you are," he said. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"We did not want to be late," said Hitomi.

"They're with me," he said to someone as he brought them with him.

Once on the third floor (where the apartment was), Sean led them to the apartment where Aaron was watching a _Doctor Who _DVD. The girls took off their coats (Maria turned down Sean's help) and hung them up while Sean went into the kitchen. "Fuck you," said Maria.

"Why?" Sean replied.

"Because your apartment is fantastic," she replied.

"Whatever," he replied. "You want anything? We've got some stuff from Quatro's, Cokes,"

"No beer?" asked Maria. "Didn't you try to sneak that in?"

"I got caught last semester," said Sean. "I'm not going to do it again; Might as well follow the guidelines."

_He's actually following rules?_ Maria thought.

"I'll have some soda!" Hitomi said eagerly. Sean grabbed a can of pop and handed it to her. Maria just helped herself to some potato chips that were out on the counter of the small apartment. "Are you going to meet with your friend, Sean?" asked Hitomi.

"Not tonight," he replied. "Marty's busy tonight and tomorrow his parents are going to Memphis, so he'll visit with them."

"Oh, okay, said Hitomi.

"Shall I go get the thing?" he asked. Maria and Hitomi nodded and Sean went into his room. He came out a couple of minutes later with a glowing rock. Bits of red, blue, yellow, pink, green, black, grey, purple and white were emanating from the rock. Sean brought it into the living room and Aaron turned off the TV. Sean hooked up a few cables up to the rock.

"Are Rob and Kevin coming?" asked Maria.

"No," said Sean. "Rob's on duty and Kevin, well, we know his story."

"Right," she said. A panel popped out like a disk drive in a PC. Sean pressed a few buttons before the panel slid back in. The rock began to glow again and started to project something. A human figure began to materialize in the room and before long, a holographic figure of a man in his late 30s appeared, projected by the physical embodiment of the Universal Morphing Grid.

"Hey guys," he said. "You called me?"

"That we did, Jason," Sean said to the holograph of Jason Lee Scott, the first Red Ranger in his universe. "We need some help."

"Considering you'd call me from a whole other universe, I'd say so," said Jason. This ability of the Morphing Grid is not magic, but involves a lot of wibbly, wobbly universey-wersey stuff (long story short, the Grid can allow Ranger teams in one universe to contact another). "What's the problem?"

"Well we already told Tommy Oliver about the last semester," said Sean. "Basically, after we destroyed their last transmutation circle, which would have leveled the city, whatever trail we had with them has gone cold. We've got no leads and no clues. All they're talking about is that they've got some sort of plan. But they're smart; they're not talking about it."

"Absolutely nothing?" Jason asked, leaning against nothing (although he was most likely leaning against something in his universe).

"Nothing," said Maria. Jason looked at all the Rangers. They were stone-faced.

"I'm sorry, but I'm a little unfamiliar with these guys," said Jason. "What do you know about them?'

"Well as of right now, they seem happy to fight us," said Sean.

"But it used to be that they would tell us to go away last semester," said Hitomi. "They kept telling us not to interfere with them or there would be consequences."

"Typically, that's still the attitude," said Jason. "And they're—"

"Immoral alchemists," said Sean. "And they turned Hitomi's brother, the first Green Ranger, against us, although splitting from us might not exactly be turning against us."

"Just like your alien-fighting counterparts," said Jason. "Tommy told me about them."

"And now he's going to Northwestern," said Sean.

"How did he transfer so quickly?" asked Maria.

"I think he's starting there in the spring," said Sean. Northwestern University does not have the same semester-based calendar SIU uses; they use a trimester-based calendar. "Lucky bastard." Let's just say that Northwestern is a better school that SIU.

"Are you sure that's all you know?" said Jason.

"Why, do you have some experience-based advice?" asked Sean.

"Exactly," said Jason. "Usually, the bad guys have a back-up plan if their plans fail."

"We think they have one," said Sean. "But I'm not so sure what that plan is."

"Well what would they be doing?" asked Maria.

"I don't know," said Sean. "I mean, there are so many possibilities, they could be doing nothing for all we know, they're just bluffing to keep us off their backs! I doubt it, but it's possible."

"Either way, you have to keep your guard up," said Jason. "The enemies are always planning something, and it's hard to stay a step ahead, much less keep up with them."

"It's being a reactionary force that's the worst," said Maria.

"Obviously," said Jason. "Of course, from what I've heard about you guys, if you had the knowledge, you'd go after the enemy yourselves."

"You know it," said Hitomi.

"Great to hear it," said Jason. "And also, don't put too much trust in the authorities."

"You talking about SWORD or the cops?" asked Sean.

"It doesn't matter," said Jason.

"Because you, know, SWORD is pretty particular about who they recruit," said Sean. "I don't think we have anything to worry about from them."

"Well, I don't really trust them a whole lot," said Hitomi.

"I guess a little healthy skepticism doesn't hurt," said Sean.

"But our Silver Ranger is a cop," said Maria. "An SIU cop, but a cop nonetheless."

"That's different," said Jason. "Just be careful, okay? And one more thing; don't give up."

"Are you kidding me?" said Sean. "That's our motto! Did anyone in your universe come up with it?"

"No," said Jason.

"Good! Do you want me to repeat it?" said Sean. "Fuck it, I'll say it anyway. We don't quit, we don't surrender, and most of all, we don't lose!"

"Your counterpart in the other universe—"

"Yes, I know that!" said Sean. "But I came up with that on my own."

"And one other thing," said Maria. "Our Blue Ranger thinks we need a seventh Ranger. Do we—"

"You can never have enough," said Jason.

"Looks like we'll have to find a seventh Ranger," said Sean. "Other than that, we're good."

"Fine," said Jason. "I don't need to tell you anything about being a Ranger." A knowing smile was on his face. "I guess I don't have much to say except, good luck and happy hunting." With that, his hologram disappeared, and Sean took the rock back into his bedroom, where he'd hopefully be able to hide it until the end of the semester.

"Well that wasn't much help," said Maria.

"Probably not as much as I hoped," said Sean. "But, it's nice to know we've got some support."

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

Sean brushed some of the snow (which had been falling lightly) off his jacket when he came to lecture at Lawson Hall the next morning. All of his classes were in the morning, save for one discussion period in the afternoon. He walked into the lecture hall where the class would be held and found a seat near the front… right next to Marty.

"I didn't know you liked to sit this close," said Sean.

"Is that bad?" asked Marty.

"I was just saying," said Sean. "Are you even Marty McAuliffe? Has someone created a clone of him that's actually dedicated to his schoolwork? Give me back my buddy!"

"Ha, ha," Marty said sarcastically. "Hey, did you hear about last night?"

"About what?" asked Sean.

"These… things were attacking the Strip, dude!" said Marty. "One of them tried to eat me, and then I saw the—what's his name—Red Power dude!"

"You did?" said Sean. "Huh. Were you drinking?"

"No!" said Marty. "I was at Wise Guys!"

"There?"

"Yes, there!"

"But that's—"

"I know! But that's not what I mean, dude!"

"Then what do you mean?"

"He sounded… kind of like you!"

"A lot of people probably sound like me," said Sean. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I thought you were—"

"Dude, are you kidding me?" he said. "I'm not going to go running around fighting… whatever, in spandex!"

"Then who the hell was that?" asked Marty.

"I don't know!" Sean replied. "It could be anybody! I was over at Quatro's, but I got out of there as soon as I heard the 'BANG'."

"You were at Quatro's? Why didn't you—" He stopped when Maria came in and sat down in their row, right next to Sean. "Fuck you."

"Why?" asked Sean. Marty didn't answer, only looking pretty miffed about something. Sean could only shrug at Maria right before Professor McDonald came out on stage to begin the lecture.

:-:-:Power RangersGPX:-:-:-:

At the end of the day, Sean and Aaron got back to their apartment and right as soon as Sean got onto his laptop and logged onto the university's internet, he got a Skype call from SWORD. "Great," he muttered to himself as he answered the call. "Yeah?"

"_You address your commanding officer with a 'Yes sir, what is it?_'" Maelstrom said as soon as he popped on screen.

"Yes sir, what is it?" he asked again.

"_We got a call from the Illinois State Geological Survey,_" said Maelstrom. "_They called the USGS and they called us. They've detected small tremors near the Giant City State Park._"

"Giant City?" asked Sean. "And how did U of I detect this, anyway?"

"_It was actually SIU that detected it,_" said Maelstrom. "_We need you to investigate._"

Sean sighed and said, "Sure."

"_I need a little more enthusiasm out of you_," said the Samuel L. Jackson look-a-like.

"Yes, sir!" he said with (fake) enthusiasm. "But it sounds like a trap."

"_Then be prepared for a trap_," said Maelstrom. "_Dismissed._" He turned off the screen and his picture disappeared.

Sean got up and went back into the living room of the apartment. "You ever been to Giant City?" he asked.

"No," said Aaron. "Why?"

"We're going there tomorrow," said Sean. "Maelstrom wants us to investigate something."

"Why can't SWORD do it on their own?" asked Aaron.

"Because we're the ones who have to get killed first," said Sean. "I'll go call the others."

"Great," said Aaron.

"When are you going to do the dishes?"

"Just now," said Aaron.

"Alright, get to it!" said Sean. Aaron chuckled to himself. Oh, how he loved fucking with his roommate.

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

"Drake, SWORD is—"

"I know, Cedric," said Drake. "Tell Neville to prepare a monster for the Rangers. We need an exceptionally good one."

"At once," said Cedric. He walked out of Drake's office, leaving him to contemplate the recent turn of events.

_Have they… no, it must have been an accident. There is no way they could have figured it out this quickly._

:-:-:-:Power Rangers GPX:-:-:-:

Two cars pulled up into the parking lot at Giant City Lodge, one a sedan the other smaller car. The sedan opened up and Sean, Aaron, Maria and Hitomi stepped out. Kevin got out of the second car (a closer look would reveal that it's a rental.). Some of the snow had melted, as the temperature was a bit close to 36 degrees.

Contrary to what you are probably thinking, Giant City is not actually a city, but refers to giant bluffs of sandstone that are naturally arranged like a city, hence the name. The park is also a popular spot for camping, picnicking and other activities, and his home to hundreds of flower species. Basically it's a big tourist attraction for Southern Illinois and one of the state's most popular state parks. Unfortunately, it's also winter, so… it's not as hopping as it usually is.

"Tell me why I had to come," said Kevin.

"Because you're a Ranger?" asked Sean.

"At least we're not investigating some supposedly haunted forest," said Maria. Consult _Power Rangers GPX Part 1_, episode 12 for reference.

"Do you have your devices?" asked Sean. They looked at him. "Oh, so it's _my _responsibility, huh?"

"Yep," said Kevin. Sean pulled out his GPX Tracking device and pressed a few buttons. "Alright, the tech guys said this should scan the soil and find a few things out of the ordinary. But, I'm not holding my breath any time soon. Let's go." They walked off to find whatever it was they were looking for. Little did they know, they were being watched…

In a strange twist of weather, it had gotten much colder and the snow was starting to fall. In all fairness, this was predicted for today, and the Rangers had come prepared, dressed in their jackets and other cold weather gear. Sean's boots tracked in the show while he scanned the ground, looking for anything.

The others were clearly bored, completely unsure why they should even be there. It felt like a jip. In the meantime, Maria seemed content to pass the time by texting some of her _amigas_, checking her step along the way. Hitomi get a little look, only to see that it was addressed to her _amigas _in Brazil. Hitomi shrugged and asked Maria to say 'hi' for her.

"I could be watching something good today," said Aaron.

"Or working on our essay," said Maria. Sean groaned.

"Yeah, two weeks in and McDonald assigns a fucking essay," said Sean. "Three essays, all a month apart. Stupid class schedule."

"Hey, do you feel strange?" asked Hitomi.

"It's just the wind," said Sean. He did feel a bit of cold wind.

"No, something's wrong," said Hitomi. "It's not the wind."

"Okay, this is strange," said Sean. "There's something on my detector and it's… above ground and phasing in and out?"

"Is there anything else?" asked Kevin.

"Yeah, it looks like it's starting to pick something up underground," said Sean. "I'm getting little spikes in seismic activity."

"How is this strange?" asked Aaron.

"Because the nearest fault zone is to the south," said Sean. "And I don't think these are really seismic—"

"Sean, something's wrong!" said Hitomi.

"Ndebele, Maria, get your blasters out!" said Sean. "I think Hitomi might be right about something."

Maria and Aaron pressed a button on their AcceleMorphers and their Octane Blasters materialized in their hand, despite probably breaking a couple of local laws. Sean went back to his scanner. "I'm not sure if these are seismic," he said. "They're kind of like… if someone was digging."

"How do you know that?" said Kevin.

"It's just a guess," said Sean.

"Sean?" asked Hitomi. He looked and noticed she looked _very _nervous. In fact, even Maria and Aaron were nervous.

"Keep your eyes peeled," said Sean. "We're not alone."

A sense of dread filled them, it was almost unearthly. These woods are not haunted, but they felt like they were. Even in the bright daylight, it seemed horrible. There's a reason peoples of old are afraid of dark forests. Who knows what might be lurking in these woods? Even in this modern age, there's something not quite right in the forest. And here they are, in the middle of the woods, being stalked by something.

They heard a wail in the distance. Maria shrugged, saying "Heck of a wind."

But Hitomi knew better. "It's not," she said. "I didn't feel anything."

Sean's face looked very nervous now. His breath was getting quicker, he said, "Get your Keys ready."

They heard the wail again. It was closer now. Sean went back to his scanner. Nothing. "This is weird," said Aaron.

Sean kept scanning the ground and checking behind him. His unease got even worse when he heard the wail again. It was getting much closer. But still, his scanner showed nothing, until—"Got something!"

"What is it?" asked Kevin.

"It looks like there's something hollow underneath us," said Sean. "It looks like a tunnel."

"A tunnel?" asked Kevin.

"Yeah, and it's pretty deep and wide, too," said Sean. "Several feet underground, looks like it's been dug into solid rock."

"How?" asked Kevin.

"Well, there are all those old coal mines in the area!" said Sean. "Maybe this is an extension of one."

"If that's the case, then who's using it?" asked Kevin.

"Who do you think?"

Then, they heard the wail again. "It's close," said Maria.

Sean got up and pointed his blaster out at the forest. He felt his heart pounding it his chest, and he suspected the others' hearts were pounding, too. He checked the scanner again. The tunnel was still there. They looked out at the forest, their dread almost getting to them. But they're Power Rangers. This kind of dread is simply a bump in the road. Whatever this is, they'll get it.

Hitomi was hyperventilating, her old confidence issues bubbling back up to the surface. She heard Maria taking some sniffs. "Do you smell that?" she said with disgust.

"Aye," said Kevin. "It smells like... a decaying body. Ugh! It's so bad!" His voice was muffled from covering his face with his jacket.

"I'm getting something," said Sean. "It's 20 yards away!"

"Keep your eyes open!" said Kevin.

Hitomi backed up in the clearing. The stench was almost overpowering. The wail came again. And this time, it was… right… behind…

Her.

She turned around, and her face contorted in fear. She was looking straight at the beady eyes of a monster. It was gaunt, almost to the point of emaciation, its skin, cold gray like corpse, was pulled tautly over its bones and its hair was stringy. The beady eyes were pushed back into its sockets, and whatever lips it had were tattered and bloody, and blood dripped from its mouth. Its breath was a cloud in the cold air. Even though it looked human, it looked so terribly inhuman. The stench was so bad it almost caused her to faint.

Instead she panicked and started shooting. The monster dashed out of the way, but her shooting got the others' attention. "What the hell was that?" said Sean.

"Four o' clock!" Maria shouted. Then she started shooting.

"Dammit, we gotta morph!" said Sean. He pulled out his Key. "READY!?" The, the monster appeared right in front of them. It was big, towering over them at probably 15 feet tall. Its arms were long and it walked with an ape-like gait. The hands ended in talons and its feet were also massive. It let out another blood-curdling wail and took a big swipe at the team. "GET DOWN!"

The big paw missed and the Rangers got out of the way. Individual shouts of "_GPX, Start it Up!_" could be heard and they were all morphed before long.

"Sean, what is that thing?" asked Kevin.

"Let me check," said Sean. His HUD was filled with text as it searched for data. Finally, he got something. "Got it! It's called a Wendigo!" He ducked out of the way of the monster's massive paw. "Uh, Algonquin legend, upper Midwest, Canada… oh, fuck! It's a cannibal!"

"What does that mean?" asked Hitomi.

"IT MEANS IT'S TRYING TO EAT US!" The wendigo took a massive swipe at Kevin and missed, smashing the tree into a million splinters. "Oh man, the park rangers are gonna be so mad at us! And this is a Canadian monster, what's it doing here in Southern Illinois?"

"I think I know why," said Kevin.

"Yeah, now that you mention it," Sean said as he let off a couple shots. "But whatever; JUST SHOOT THE DAMN THING!"

The forest was filled the sounds of their shooting, but they didn't land a shot. The wendigo dashed out of the way. The place was quiet again. But that's never a good indication anything's over. Right on cue, Aaron's HUD alerted him to an enemy on his 6. He spun around and shot the wendigo. Again, he missed. "DAMN!"

"This is bad!" said Sean. "I think he's playing with us."

"I hate it when they play with us," said Kevin.

"So what should we do?" asked Maria.

"We should get out of here," said Kevin.

"HEY! Remember what I said? We don't quit!" said Sean.

"What about retreating?"

"… That's different. Let's go!" The Rangers holstered (or just reattached their blasters to their belts) and ran back the way they came. "That thing's gonna follow us, anyway. My HUD said it can smell us and hear our heartbeats."

"Three o' clock!" said Maria. She pulled out her blaster and shot the monster twice. The monster disappeared into the woods.

"We're almost at the parking lot!" said Sean. They busted out of the woods right in front of the lodge, much to the surprise of some visitors. "Get outta here, there's a monster on the loose!" he said.

"What?"

"I said GET OUT OF HERE!" he shouted, grabbing one of them by the collar.

"Why?" asked a woman, presumably the man's wife. "What is going on, and who are you, anyway?"

"If you don't get out of here—"

"REEEDDD!" Hitomi shouted. The Wendigo burst out of the trees and let out a wail.

"Does THAT answer your question!?" They didn't answer the question, just getting back in their car and driving off. "Now then," said Sean. "Listen up! We gotta keep that thing here! Kevin, you got your rifle?" Kevin pressed his belt buckle.

"So what's the plan?" asked Kevin.

"First off, everyone, get some melee weapons!" He said that while Maria dodged the Wendigo's paws. They all summoned their weapons and Hitomi got her Am Staff. "Alright, one at a time, go!"

"What about me?" said Kevin.

"Keep it away from the woods!" said Sean.

Hitomi started it off, taking a big cut at the Wendigo. The monster swung its paw at herm but she got out of the way just in time. Aaron took advantage and whacked the monster with his axe. The monster wailed and whacked him to the side. He felt the wind knocked out of him and a bad pain in the gut as he doubled over. However, this gave Maria a launching pad and she jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around the wendigo's neck. The beast flailed about as Maria stabbed the monster in the neck.

The wendigo howled an even more inhuman cry than when they first heard it. "GOT IT!" said Sean. "Not so invincible now, are ya?"

"Silver, what can't it do?" Kevin said as he shot the beast. "Trace amounts, but still some silver in there!"

"Just enough," Sean said as he prepped. He took a big cut at the Wendigo. The wendigo's paw fell off and turned to clay. "Figures," said Sean. Then, the wendigo reached out its arm and its hand reattached to it. "That's new!" Suddenly, the wendigo grabbed him and started squeezing. Even with his high-tech suit that nearly made him invincible, he felt the wendigo squeezing him to death and he let out an unearthly scream.

"SEAN!" Maria shouted. She rushed the Wendigo and stabbed its hand. The wendigo didn't seem fazed, but once Aaron and Hitomi did their thing, it let go of Sean. The others rushed to his aid while Kevin tried to keep it away from him. The wendigo dashed in and out, trying to get into the forest where it could use its cunning hunting skills.

"Keep calm," said Kevin. "Keep it away from the forest. Aaron!"

"Got it!" said Aaron. His boot tires spun and he sped to keep the wendigo in place, stopping right in front of the wendigo. It swatted at him, but he jumped away. The wendigo tried to escape, but Maria was right there, keeping it in place. And by now, Sean had gotten up and the Rangers had the wendigo surrounded.

"I don't know what you're protecting," said Sean. "Or what you have to do with the plot, but here's what I know; THIS FIGHT ENDS _NOW!_"

The wendigo just screamed at him and tried to make a break for the woods. Maria and Aaron got in the way, grabbing the wendigo's forearm. Then Hitomi and Kevin got in on the act, grabbing its legs. The wendigo thrashed about, but the Rangers held firm. Then Sean jumped up on the wendigo's back and drove his blade through the monster's neck. The monster howled in pain and when Sean drew the sword, the monster's eyes rolled back in its head and it fell to the ground.

The Rangers got off, examining the monster. "I kind of feel sorry for it," said Maria. "It looks so hungry."

"The stats say the wendigo is insatiable by nature," said Sean.

"In _that _case," she said. She was about to say something when a blue circle appeared under the wendigo's body. They back off and ran once the Wendigo became charged with energy and woke up. As this is _Power Rangers_, what comes next is to be expected.

The Rangers ran as the wendigo began to grow (just missing the Giant City Lodge) and grew until it towered over the state park. "Great," said Sean. "We need the Grand Prix Zords!" The Grand Prix Zords emerged in the forest. The Wendigo took noticed, but the zords fired several cables that kept the wendigo in place. "Nice!" Sean said as he jumped onto his zord. "GT Racer, online!" Sean said as he fell into his cockpit. His zord was a large, red-colored GT race car.

"Touring Racer, ready to go!" Kevin said. His was a large, blue-colored touring race car.

"Mountain Hauler, engage!" Aaron cried. His was a massive green-colored pick-up truck.

"Haz Runner, roll out!" Maria called. Hers was a yellow-colored HazMat vehicle.

"Am Chaser, let's go!" Hitomi said. The Am Chaser was a large white, pink-trimmed ambulance.

"AcceleKeys, ready!" Sean said. He and the other Rangers pulled out their AcceleKeys.

"_READY!_" The rest shouted. They then jammed the keys in the key slots near the steering wheel and gave them a turn. A series of lights lit up indicating their activation.

"Initiate Grand Prix Megazord docking sequence," Sean said. "NOW!"

Mountain Hauler joined with Touring Racer. The touring car split in two and rolled up to the rear wheels of the Mountain Hauler. A pair of panels adjusted, revealing elbows. At the same time, a pair of fists popped out of the back. The Touring Racer then joined with the Mountain Hauler, forming arms. Then the grill on the Mountain Hauler lifted up and the front of the truck split and a pair of extensions popped out. The Hauler then rolled up the rears of the Am Chaser and Haz Runner and joined with them.

The Haz Runner and Am Chaser formed legs. Then, the GT Racer rolled up the back of the Mountain Hauler and docked with it. The large lights on the top of the Mountain Hauler rolled back and folded down. Now the Megazord was ready. It was then that several rockets fire, propelling the megazord upright. The cabs of the Am Chaser and Haz Runner stayed put, forming feet. The Haz Runner formed the left leg and the Am Chaser the right. The rear compartment of the GT Racer folded back, revealing a head. The eyes resembled goggles, and the face mask was solid. No mouth piece. A pair of wheel-like panels on the side completed it. Finally, the robot was upright. The Megazord let out some steam, ready to fight.

"_Grand Prix Megazord, online!_" The Rangers shouted from the cockpit. They were in their Indy Car-style pods. The megazord then advanced on the wendigo.

The wendigo broke free. The megazord wasted no time, sucker-punching the wendigo in face. The wendigo fell down, probably smashing over a few trees. Good thing SWORD was on good standing with the state. The wendigo got back up and swatted the megazord. It blocked the monster and retaliated with a punch.

With its newfound size, the wendigo did not have the speed it had earlier and was now vulnerable. It did, however, have its strength, and one swipe from its hand almost knocked the megazord onto downtown Makanda (the town closest to the state park). Luckily, Maria and Hitomi were able to right the zord.

The wendigo, being more intelligent than it appears, wrapped its arms around the megazord and began to squeeze. While the Rangers tried to deal with the pressure it put on them, it tried to bite the megazord.

However, biting a robot is probably not a good idea unless you want to lose your teeth, even if you have a whole lot of fangs and teeth for cutting and are a (clay) supernatural monster. The megazord kicked the wendigo in the groin to get it off.

The wendigo got back up and took a big swipe at the megazord. It still has that weapon, and it severely destabilized the megazord. This time, the megazord fell to the ground (missing the closest town). The wendigo pounced, but the megazord kicked it away. With the wendigo dazed, the megazord got back up and punched the wendigo. "Time to finish this!" said Sean. "Grand Prix Megazord saber!" The large sword materialized in front of the megazord. The megazord grabbed the sword and the eyes under the visor flashed. It was time to finish this fight. "Turbo jets!"

Some jets on the soles of the megazord's feet fired and lifted the megazord above the ground. "_Grand Prix Megazord Strike! Go!"_ At that point, the megazord launched forward at the jester rabbit, its jets propelling it. The wendigo was still dazed and just barely got a glimpse. The megazord slashed at him and then stopped. "_Checkered Flag!_" The megazord stopped and posed in victory with the wendigo was consumed in a shower of sparks, fell to the ground and exploded.

"Well that was more eventful than it should have been," a now unmorphed Sean said as they went back to the car.

"Let's just hope the state doesn't get mad at us," said Kevin. "By the way, I've talked to another TA, he knows some chem TAs who might be able to help us."

"That works," said Sean. "Now let's just hope Marty doesn't get any more suspicious and we can take care of these guys."

:-:-:-:PRGPX:-:-:-:

End chapter

That's the end of that chapter! There's the debut of the zords!

I got a request to do the Blackhawks mascot for a monster, but I'd already decided on my monster, so that's a no-go. Besides if I did, it'd break poor Sean's heart (and he's already depressed about the 2012 NHL lockout as it is). Plus, I've got a target of about 14 chapters, and I really need all the plot I can fit in and I'm planning out the rest of the story. So, I'm not sure if I can do monster requests from now on.

Still, reviews are very much appreciated!


	5. The Girls' Mission

Power Rangers GPX SIU episode 5: The Girls' Mission

:-:-:-: Power Rangers, Grand Prix, G-P-X, GO! :-:-:-:

It was an ordinary Wednesday and Maria was waking up to some news about the Egyptian Revolution. Apparently, not much had changed just yet. That'd probably change later that night (the date is February 1, and Hosni Mubarak would speak later that day, at least in the US). Maria stretched and yawned, listening to the NPR report of the events.

Hitomi stirred in her bed, obviously unhappy with having to hear some radio noise so early in the morning. "_Lo siento_," Maria said as she got up and turned on her computer. After logging on, she turned on the internet. Hitomi could hear her pounding on the keys and this also got her annoyed.

"Could you please stop that?" she asked. "And can you please put something on besides your spaghetti strap top and panties?" Maria sighed and grabbed her robe, covering up much to her annoyance. Anyway, she logged onto the internet, going to Facebook first.

"Are we going to Lentz today?" Hitomi asked, her hair a little messy and her pajamas kind of scrunched up.

"Sure," said Maria. It was an automated reaction, one that if it was asked before she took her shower, she would have said 'probably not'.

"I don't want anything too special," said Hitomi, "Just some cereal." That could work.

"Whatever works," said Maria. At that point, Hitomi got out bed and got ready to take her shower. Maria, meanwhile, brought up her e-mail. It was typical, really. It was mostly junk mail and a few banal e-mails from her mother (not that her mother's e-mails were always banal, it's that they could get pointless at times) and other truly pointless e-mail.

That changed when she logged onto her SIU e-mail. She noticed an e-mail with the subject line reading 'URGENT'. Okay, it wasn't just the subject line; it was who it was from. It was a classified e-mail address that only someone like her would know what it is. So, she opened the e-mail.

She looked it over for a few minutes while Hitomi showered. Every line was dissected like a frog. It was sent in coded language, but it was language Maria was familiar with; codes that SWORD used all the time. It usually took a few reads to get what they were trying to say. To the average reader, it looked pretty pointless, but kind of incomprehensible.

To a SWORD agent, however, it contained vital information.

Plus, Maria was waiting for Hitomi to get out of the shower.

Eventually, Hitomi emerged, drying her hair off and dressed in a pink robe. "Oi," said Maria. Hitomi kind of ignored her and grabbed her hair dryer, much to Maria's annoyance. "OI!" She shouted over the hair dryer. Looking at that girl, she wondered how she could be a Ranger. But her fighting skill always provided an answer. "WE'VE GOT SOMETHING HERE!" She shouted.

"_Nani_?" asked Hitomi. Maria got fed up and yanked the plug. "HEY!"

"SWORD sent us something," said Maria.

"They did?"

"Yes, and apparently, they only sent it to us."

"They did?" asked Hitomi. "What did it say?"

"It's coded," said Maria, "But I've figured out what it says."

"Well, what does it say?"

"It says they've sent us a very important package," said Maria. "And they want us to make sure it's safe."

"Us?" asked Hitomi. "Are—"

"No," said Maria. "It's only addressed to you and me."

"_EEEH!?_"

"That's what it says!" said Maria, pointing to the address bar on the e-mail. "Don't ask me why, but I think they think we're the best for the job." She seemed to be stroking her own ego.

"You mean—"

"I'm actually kind of excited!" said Maria. "They're giving us something with this much responsibility? I think we can handle it!"

"Really?"

"It's just making sure a little package is delivered safely," said Maria. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"A lot," said Hitomi. She was shaking a little. Maria placed her hand on her friend's shoulder and said,

"Hitomi, we're Power Rangers. A lot can go wrong; we just have to respond to it as best we can."

"I'll try," said Hitomi.

"Hitomi, you _need _some confidence, _chica_!" said Maria. "I've been telling you that for months!"

"I am trying!" said Hitomi.

"As the saying goes, 'do or do not'," said Maria. "'There is no try'."

Hitomi nodded. "I shall do my best."

"A little better," said Maria.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

After meditation, the two departed for class. With Maria having a lecture class with Sean and Hitomi having a history class in the same building, they walked to class together. Leaving the Thompson Point area, they walked along Lincoln Drive towards the Communications Building, and Lawson Hall was just across the street from it. It only took a couple seconds to cross the street, even without stop signs or lights (although Illinois law does require cars to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians).

They walked in the door and Hitomi entered the first lecture hall, where her history class was. Maria walked into a different hall and found Sean waiting in the middle section near the front. She smirked and decided to sit down next to him. When she did, he said

"Why do you always sit next to me?"

"Because I can," she replied. He scoffed. She loved doing that to him. "By the way, we got an e-mail from SWORD."

"You did?" he whispered. "When?"

"This morning," she replied. "They're sending something to us."

"When is it coming?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "But they apparently want me and Hitomi to take care of it."

"Motherfucker!" he said out loud, right in front of Professor McDonald.

"Anything else you wish to say?" asked Professor McDonald. Sean shook his head while Maria tried not to laugh. She could see Kevin trying not to laugh, too.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"So, it's just you they sent it to?" Aaron asked after Hitomi's history class. She nodded.

"Uh-huh!" she said.

"And they didn't tell us?"

"Maria thinks it's because they think we're the best," she said.

"Bullshit," said Aaron.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I hope SWORD is not losing our trust," said Aaron. Some students overheard them, but they shook their heads, completely ignoring the both of them. Aaron decided to take Hitomi to a little secluded spot so that they could talk. "You're sure?"

Hitomi nodded. "It was only sent to us."

"I really want to give them a 'piece of my mind'," said Aaron.

"I can help you," she replied.

"No thank you," he replied. "I'll do it myself."

"Too bad," said Hitomi.

"Are you going to follow me to lunch?" he said. "You seem awfully interested in me."

"I'll follow you to lunch, but I'm not that interested in you," she replied.

"Am I ugly!?"

"No," she said. "I'm just not that into you."

"That would hurt even more," said Aaron.

"Too bad dude," Sean said as he walked past, patting him on the shoulder. However, Aaron noticed Hitomi watching Sean and Maria. It looked like she was kind of sad, but he shrugged it off. At least he could tell why Hitomi wasn't into him. She was only setting herself up for disappointment.

Sean and Maria meanwhile walked down the extension of Grand Ave. for the student center. A certain brother-in-law's squad car and Sean asked him to roll the windows down. "Yo, Rob!" he said.

"Hello Sean," said Rob.

"We've got a little package coming for us," he said. "Unfortunately, she knew about it before I did."

"Why here?" said Rob.

"Because I'm better," said Maria.

"Don't let it get to your head," said Sean.

"Looks like it already has," said Rob.

"Do you know anybody in the postal service?" said Sean.

"I know a few, why?"

"Do you think you can help us out?" said Sean. "We need to find out where it is."

"You know, you can find out on your own," said Rob.

"Ugh, I should have known," said Sean. "We don't know the tracking number."

"Well then, that's not my problem," said Rob. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back on patrol." He rolled up the window while Sean backed out and drove off.

"Looks like Marty's coming over here," said Sean. "I'll catch up with you at the Student Center, okay?"

"Fine," she said as she walked off while Sean stayed to talk with Marty.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"Dammit, Drake, how are we supposed to finish our plan if the Rangers keep defeating us!?"

"Ronald, be quiet!" said Drake. "We need not win every battle to win the war. We are almost finished."

"But the Rangers only need to find enough and our plan is revealed!" said Ronald.

"I must agree with Ronald," said Cedric. "The Rangers are getting close to our plans, and it is only February."

"Did you not hear what Master Drake already said?" said the black-haired woman to the side of Drake's desk. She was a lean figure, with enough sex appeal to make Madonna jealous. She was tall and had long, dark hair going down halfway down her back. Her dark eyes pierced Cedric's being. This is Bellatrix.

"Thank you darling, but I do not think they need that," said Drake. "I have received word from our sources that SWORD is planning to send something to the Rangers. Whatever it is, it must not reach them, understand?"

"Understood," said Cedric.

"Yes, Drake," said Ronald.

"And remember Ronald, you had best not fail me," said Drake. "Or else, I will not be as forgiving as I have been."

"Yes, Drake!" said Ronald.

Drake picked up his phone and dialed Neville's number. "Neville, I need a monster. Yes, the Rangers have a present coming for them… Ronald will go with him."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Maria tossed on her bed, trying to get comfortable so she could take her stinkin' nap. Hitomi was typing away on a short paper on her laptop only a few feet away, and unfortunately, it was kind of loud. Maria rolled over on her stomach and covered her head with her pillow just so she could get some sleep. It wasn't too bad, really, but then she remembered she doesn't really sleep well on her stomach.

"Damn," she growled.

"I'm sorry if I'm being too loud," said Hitomi. "But I need to finish this paper."

"Just please finish it soon," Maria groaned. Hitomi went back to her work while Maria just got up to go to the vending machine in the dorm's TV room right inside the entrance.

Instead of getting something from the vending machine, she decided to take a nap on the couch in front of the TV. But even that didn't work. She decided to just get some caffeine and bought a can of pop.

"You think the guys are mad at us?" said Hitomi.

"I don't care," said Maria. "But, I can understand why they're mad. But that doesn't mean they have the right to be."

"I'm not sure if that's the right attitude," said Hitomi.

"Sure," said Maria.

"Maybe that's why they were mad at us," said Hitomi. "In fact, I'm getting mad at you, too."

"What did I—"

"You tell me about my confidence," said Hitomi. "Maybe I should tell you about your attitude."

"Am I going to get a lecture?" said Maria.

"Maybe," said Hitomi.

"And if I don't want one?"

"I'll give it to you, anyway if I have to," she said.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Sean went on Skype to try and get a hold of Maelstrom. He was feeling a little annoyed with the words of the girls, but now he wanted some answers. Did SWORD somehow not trust them anymore? This is going to be addressed in the conversation, by the way.

Maelstrom's image appeared on the screen and he did not seem to be particularly fazed or anything. "_Hello Red Ranger_," he said.

"Director Maelstrom," he said. "Permission to speak freely?"

"_Permission granted_," said Maelstrom. He looked like he was reserved to what he was going to get and just wanted to get it over with.

"What the hell were you thinking sending that e-mail the girls and not us!?" he said.

"_I was thinking clearly_," said Maelstrom.

"I didn't doubt that," said Sean. "But why didn't you tell me, Rob, Ndebele and Kevin about the package?"

"_Calm down Red_," said Maelstrom. "_I had my reasons_."

"Do you even trust us anymore?"

"_Don't you dare ask that question!_" said Maelstrom. "_Like I said, I have my reasons._"

"Well then maybe you should tell me!" said Sean.

"_O'Callahan, your attitude is getting on my nerves,_" said Maelstrom. "_Calm down, or else I will have to come over there and make you!_"

"Sorry," said Sean. "Why won't you tell me?"

"_Sorry, but looks like something's come up,_" said Maelstrom. "_I can't stay, but keep your eyes peeled_." The screen went black and Sean was left with his arms up in frustration.

"Great," he said.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Andrew Smith is a ten-year employee of the US Postal Service. He worked in St. Louis before moving with his wife to Carbondale where he now drives a mail SUV. Most of the mail he delivers is sent to the University. The mail is usually processed at an office in the area's main hall, like Lentz Hall for Thompson Point and Trueblood at the Towers. University Hall has its own mail office, as do Wall & Grand.

He was on his way to campus today, unaware of anything too out of the ordinary, even though he'd seen extraordinary things in his life, like going to see Mark McGuire's 62nd home run in 1998. Oh, and the Power Rangers, too, but he wasn't concerned about them.

It was a pleasant day, with the sun finally peeking out from behind the clouds. He smiled, noting that it was going to be a good day today. He drove down N University Ave, which a south-bound road and split from S Illinois Ave. The Brush towers were on the horizon and he was about to pass city hall, when he noticed a sickly grey figure on the side of the road.

Suddenly, he heard an explosion right in front of him and he swerved out of the way, driving on to the sidewalk and stopping. His drivers-side door was torn off. "HEY! This is United States Pos—YAAAHHH!" He didn't finish his sentence as a monster tossed him out of his SUV.

"Shut up, human!" said the monster, which looked like a sleek, muscular falcon. Another person grabbed him by the collar and tossed him to the side.

"Get out of here!" said Ronald. Andrew got up and scrambled away while the creatures started rummaging through the mail he was supposed to deliver.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

_Beep, beep, be-bee-beep, beep, beep!_ Maria's morpher went. She pressed the TALK button on the morpher and said, "Yes?"

"_Several Mannequins have attacked a USPS truck,_" said the voice on the other end. "_We're watching it on a CCTV feed, all they're doing I s rummaging through the mail_."

"We're on it!" said Maria. "Hitomi, _vamanos!_"

"Okay!" she said.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Ronald watched while the Mannequins rummaged through several boxes of student and teacher mail. He was getting very annoyed at how long this was taking. Falconer looked less desperate, but that's only because he didn't have the kind of pressure on him than Ronald did. He started to growl. "HURRY UP!" he shouted.

"Will that find the package?" said Falconer.

"I need that package!" said Ronald.

"Look at how much mail we have to sort!" said Falconer. "Does it look like we're going to find it any time soon?"

"Is there some way to pick up the pace?" said Ronald. "Those pests should be arriving soon, we have to—"

"HOLD IT!" A voice called out. Ronald's eyes bugged out and he turned around to see Maria and Hitomi, already morphed with their arms crossed. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"What ever it is, it is unforgivable!" said Hitomi. "In the name of SWORD, we shall punish you!"

"Um, what?" said Ronald.

"Hitomi, Sailor Moon taunts never work in real life," said Maria.

"But I wanted to—,"

"Enough talk! GET THEM!" Ronald shouted. The Mannequins screamed and rushed the girls. They were caught off guard for a second, but managed to recover and fight back.

They fought as a tag team. Maria threw some punches, knocking several Mannequins to the side. Hitomi twirled around, kicking them in the chin to finish them off. Maria picked Hitomi up and tossed her into a crowd of several Mannequins. She flipped up in the air, and when she came down she kicked the Mannequins in the face. Maria rushed forward to punch a Mannequin in the face and break through the Mannequin barrier to get to the mail truck.

She tackled Falconer, who was still looking though the mail. Falconer got back up and threw a punch at her. She blocked, punched him, he punched her, she bent over backwards. The kicked him in the beak. She jumped back, putting her dukes up and panting ever-so-slightly. She wasn't tired, not in the least. She went back to the fight, giving Falconer a roundhouse kick.

Falconer tried to backhand her. She bent backwards, jumped up and reverse roundhouse kicked Falconer. Falconer punched her. She ducked and punched him in the gut.

To her unhappy surprise, she was reminded that she's fighting two enemies. She felt her collar being yanked backwards and tossed several yards. She saw a boot coming down on her face and she rolled out of the way of Ronald's boot. "Damn you!" he growled.

Hitomi grabbed two Mannequins and bashed their heads in. She blocked a Mannequin's teeth and threw it at several other Mannequins. She jumped, two Mannequins ran into each other, and she noticed that Maria was fighting Ronald and Falconer was looking through the mail again. She couldn't just sit by and let that happen. She pressed her belt buckle and her Am Staff materialized. She used the _naginata_ to get the Mannequins out of the way.

Falconer felt the blade pierce his sides and stepped away. Hitomi thrust the blade at him, then swung it in his face. Falconer tried to block, but she twirled and tripped him up with the blade of her stick. Falconer got back up when she tried to thrust her blade in his face. He punched her, but she got back up and stuck the blunt end of the stick in his beak. Confidence issues, what confidence issues?

Maria, unfortunately, was not faring as well as Hitomi was. For one thing, Ronald is a much better fighter than Falconer was, and he had her pinned to the pavement. "You damn pests," he said in her face as he pressed her to the pavement. "Every time I think I've got you, you pull your damn recovery! It's your damn fault Drake is angry at me!"

"Too bad!" Maria said. She pulled out her blaster and shot Ronald. "Do you actually think I'm going to care about that?"

"Of course I didn't!" said Ronald. "I just wanted to COMPLAIN!" He drew a quick transmutation circle on the pavement and drew a big club. "Scream for me," he said.

"Let me think about it… NO." She just shot him in the chest.

Now, Hitomi and Maria are only two people. So as they're in combat with a falcon monster and a psychotic large ham alchemist, the Mannequins were looking through the mail in Andrew Smith's truck. There were several packages strewn about the ground and opened letters, a few dollar bills and checks strewn about as well. Then, the sounds of blaster fire rang and a couple Mannequins had their heads blown off. They turned hungrily and saw a silver figure walking towards them.

"You are in violation of 18 USC § 1702 - Obstruction of correspondence," said Rob. "You are under arrest!" The Mannequins screamed and rushed him. He converted the Silver Blaster into the Silver Sword and fought back, slashing at the Mannequins. Mannequin body parts landed on the street, drying into clay as Rob did his work. He thrust, slashed and stabbed the Mannequins. More popped up.

Maria was not happy when Rob showed up, but his cop routine was a welcome sight. She still felt that she and Hitomi could handle this all by themselves and was close to telling Rob off, but Ronald wasn't letting that happen. She could see something in him every time he mentioned his defeats; a man desperate to regain the approval of the society he fought for. He was scared. She empathized with him…

But that thought broke when she had to block an attack from Ronald's club. She kicked him in the shin, causing him to hold it in pain. Then she gave him a good punch to the face. "If you are trying to gain any sympathy or empathy with me, forget it," she said with the coldest, most hostile voice imaginable. "You tried to kill me; you tried to kill my friends and countless others in this area, and now you threaten to do an unspeakable act to me. The time for any sympathy has passed."

"I was not asking for your sympathy," he said, rubbing his cheek, "I was simply explaining how satisfying it will be when I _KILL YOU!_"

"Well in that case, HAVE AT YOU!" She rushed the muscle-bound alchemist, prepared to kill him if necessary.

Some of the Mannequins took advantage of Rob's distraction to continue sifting through the mail. Of course, Rob didn't exactly miss this and burst through the Mannequins and stabbed the Mannequin sifting through the mail in the neck. The green blood splattered on the pavement as the Mannequin fell to the ground.

Then Rob felt several Mannequins jump on top of him. They may be dumb and bad fighters, but when they're working together… Rob knew he needed help, but the girls were not helping, fighting their own battles. Rob reversed his grip on the sword and stabbed a Mannequin in the leg. The Mannequin fell off, causing a domino effect that dragged the other Mannequins off of him.

Rob had the Mannequins where he wanted them and took a big cut, chopping off a few heads. They rushed him, but he tossed them to the curb and stomped one on the head. He ducked, avoiding another Mannequin.

Hitomi spun, twirled and jumped around Falconer. He didn't touch her, and she was taunting him this way. And when the Falconer lifted off, she hooked her blade on his talons and dragged him back down to the ground. Falconer clawed at her. She thrust the blunt end of the staff in his beak. He landed on the curb on the far side of the mail van. Then he rolled out of the way.

She chased after him, swinging downward, but Falconer flapped his wings, creating a small whirlwind. It would have worked if Hitomi was not wearing a visor. Instead, she took the blade of her _naginata _and thrust downwards.

The falcon was out of the way though and Hitomi cursed herself in frustration.

Hitomi heard two sets of blaster fire and a bit of alchemical lightning. Rob was shooting some Mannequins, and Maria was shooting Ronald.

Hitomi's second of distraction allowed Falconer to punch her in the helmet. She fell to the ground and rolled from Falconer's talons. He grabbed her suit right around her bust "Pervert!" and lifted. She tried to reach for her staff, but it had been knocked away and several Mannequins had kicked it out of reach. Then Falconer suddenly tossed her in the direction of one of the houses on the west side of the street.

However, she noticed that Falconer had been hit and was going down. That was not a toss!

Ronald had Maria on her back and his club in the air. "DIE, Yellow Ran—"

"GT STRIKE!"

"GAAH!"

Maria was fuming. "Dammit, Red!"

"What, I saved your life, didn't I?" said Sean. "Y'know, big damn heroes?"

"We had this!"

"Do you want our help or not!?"

"Of course not!" she shouted. "We can handle this on our own!"

"No you can't!" Sean replied.

"Why, because I'm female?"

"No, that's not it!" Sean shot back.

"Then what is it?"

"We're a team, dammit, we look after each other, and we help each other whether we like it or not!"

"We can handle it!" said Maria.

"Oh good, now the Red Ranger is here!" Ronald said with a sadistic glee. "Now I can kill you both!"

"Right, a team!" said Maria. That was fast. Ronald rushed forward and the two Rangers blocked his attack.

Kevin's rifle was smoking while Falconer writhed on the ground with scorch marks on his back. "Keep your filthy talons off of her," he said, pointing his gun in Falconer's face. "Pink, are you okay?"

"I am," said Hitomi. She got up and grabbed her _naginata_.

Just then, Falconer whacked Kevin's rifle. Hitomi stabbed Falconer, but the bird dodged the blade and pecked Kevin in the helmet. Hitomi took a swing, ruffling a few feathers. But Falconer swooped down and knocked the two down W Hospital Dr.

Aaron and Rob had it a little easier though, beating back as many Mannequins as they could. And that was easy. Rob slashed, Aaron chopped away. Green blood splattered all over the place while the two did their work. They kept the Mannequins from the mail van.

But, that was only the Mannequins they were facing. One Mannequin started sifting through the mail and somehow, finally found what it was looking for and took off. It would have escaped if Sean hadn't noticed it. "STOP THAT THING!" he shouted.

"I will!" said Hitomi. She grabbed her blaster and shot the Mannequin as it passed by her. The shots hit the Mannequin and the package it was carrying. The package opened and the item inside fell out. Someone who had come to investigate picked it up.

"It has SWORD's insignia!" Ronald shouted. The bystander looked up and seeing the fight, took off towards 710 Bookstore. "DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Ronald shouted.

"STOP THEM!" Sean shouted. He and Maria kicked Ronald down, and he hit his head on the van. It wouldn't cause a concussion, but it did knock him out. Sean, Maria, Kevin and Aaron fought the Mannequins, but that inadvertently let the bystander run away.

Then Falconer took off in pursuit, taking to the skies to avoid the melee. However, Sean noticed it. "SHOOT HIM DOWN!" Kevin and Hitomi broke free, Hitomi summoning her bow and notching an arrow. Both took aim and fired. Their shots hit their target and Falconer fell to the ground in the parking lot.

The Rangers gave chase to surround Falconer. "We gotta finish this!" said Sean. "Supercharge!" The Rangers jammed their keys in their weapons (save for Rob) and supercharged them. "FIRE!"

The Rangers fired their weapons and Sean gave the finishing touches. Falconer erupted in a shower of sparks and exploded. Now they could give chase and—

"Where'd he go?" said Sean.

"I'm going to check on Ronald," said Rob.

"Good idea," said Sean. "Green, you see where he might have went?"

"S Illinois?" Aaron suggested, heading over to the street. "He's not here!"

"Silver—"

"_Ronald's gone!_" said Rob.

"Oh, no!" Maria said, putting her hands on her head and leaning against the big dumpster in the parking lot. "How could this have happened?" she asked.

"Yellow?" Sean asked. "What's going on?"

"Pink and I were supposed to protect that package!"

"I know that," said Sean.

"And now it's gone! What are we going to do?"

"We'll find it," said Sean. "Let's get out of here."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"…_What am I going to do with you five?_" Maelstrom said, rubbing his face on Skype after the Rangers went back to Sean's apartment and de-morphed. "_You failed!_"

"I know!" said Sean.

"_That was SWORD technology!_" said Maelstrom. "_And now some idiot has it! Who knows what they're going to do with it!_ _At least with Silver, it was a simple accident, this is plain incompetence!_"

"Well, sorry!" said Sean. "Apparently we weren't trusted enough to handle it!"

"_O'Callahan, what are you—oh, that,_" said Maelstrom. "_Aparicio, Miyazawa, step forward, please_." The girls did so under the glare of Sean and Aaron. "… _Well?_"

"We're sorry," said Maria.

"Very sorry," said Hitomi.

"And they didn't want our help!" said Sean. Maria glared at him, but Maelstrom was glaring at _her_.

"I appreciated it," said Hitomi.

"_At least one of you did_," said Maelstom. "_The reason I did that was because I was sure they'd be able to handle the pressure and responsibility. As of right now, I am not sure if I am right, especially since Aparicio refused the help of her fellow Rangers._"

"Is it because—"

"_Sex has nothing to do with it!_" Maelstrom shouted. "_You are a team, and you are expecting a team, I don't want any dumb-ass excuses, especially when it comes to gender! There are times to complain about that, this is not!_"

"My apologies," said Maria. "I guess I got too wrapped up in the mission. But losing the package was not my fault!"

"_No, that falls on all of you,_" said Maelstrom. "_We'll try to keep a lookout for it, you keep doing your jobs, and I want no complaints, understand?_"

"Yes, sir," said Maria.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

The SWORD insignia, a sword overlapping an eagle was etched into the black case. Two hands laid the case on the table. The hands tried to find away to open the case, feeling around the black edge. They pressed, looking for a button. They couldn't find one. They started to get frustrated until they pressed a pair of buttons. The hands opened up the case and—"Holy shit!"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

End chapter

Sean VO: "Next time, on _Power Rangers GPX SIU!_"

Maria VO: "We have to find that guy from yesterday!"

Drake: (Angrily) "You have failed me for the last time!"

(Ronald angrily punches a wall)

Ronald: "Damn you, Rangers!" (Shot of Ronald materializing on the SIU campus) "The Rangers _will _pay!" (Shot of Ronald grabbing Sean in civilian form by the neck)

Maria: "SEAN!"

Sean: (Shot of him morphed, but looking at something) "No way!"

Sean VO: "That's next time, on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"


	6. Ronald's Wrath

Power Rangers GPX SIU, Episode 6:

Rob VO: "Last time, on 'Power Rangers GPX SIU'!"

Maria: "SWORD sent us something. They've sent us a very important package and they want us to keep it safe".

Aaron: "So it's just you they sent it to?"

Hitomi: "Uh-huh!"

Drake: "Whatever it is, it must not reach the Rangers."

Ronald: "Yes, Drake".

(Cut to shot of Ronald attacking postal van. Maria and Hitomi intervene and a fight breaks out. Then cut to a scene of a black box being picked up by a bystander)

Ronald: "DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!"

(Cut to shot of Rangers fighting Falconer and then destroying him. Cut to Sean looking for bystander)

Sean: "Where'd he go?"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers, Grand Prix, G-P-X, Go!:-:-:-:

"You let the package get away!?" Drake shouted at a prostrating Ronald. The muscle-bound alchemist, despite looking as though he was not afraid of anyone, was cowering and prostrating himself before the frail alchemist.

"My deepest apologies, Drake!"

"Apologies are not enough!" Drake shouted back. "Our plan is still on track, but you have failed every single time you have faced the Rangers, Seamus was better than you and he was only in the area for two weeks!" Seamus is another alchemist who was defeated by the Rangers at the end of last semester as they destroyed the Society's transmutation circle that would have destroyed the city of Carbondale.

"But Seamus—"

"Was a good alchemist and a good fighter and strategist!" said Drake. "You are a skilled alchemist and a very important part of this society, but I am losing my patience!"

"My most serious and humble apologies, Drake!" Ronald pleaded again.

"Of course, the factor that is in your favor is that the Rangers were simply determined… as they always are," said Drake, "And you had no real understanding of what the Rangers were supposed to receive and thus our loss will most likely have no effects whatsoever on our plans."

"Thank you Drake," said Ronald.

"HOWEVER." He said loudly but did not shout, "Ever since our founding, we have had only had one challenger that truly was a threat to our existence, and although I relish a challenge, this has not been your best battle!"

"My apologies!"

"Stop apologizing!" said Bellatrix.

"Bella," said Drake. "Be calm, please. Now then, where was I? Oh, yes. I never thought that since we moved our operations to a relatively rural area in the Midwestern United States with a large enough population and close enough to a large city, that we would have no opposition, but since August, we have been foiled time and time again by young adults with no alchemical prowess!"

"Young adults with the backing of a top-secret international espionage and defense organization and skills and weapons to stop us," said Cedric.

"That is true," said Drake. "However, Ronald, prior to this, you had been one of our best alchemical minds and physical threats. However, since we have fought these young adults, you have been as ineffectual as a man with impotence!" Ronald shuddered. "I am in no real hurry to complete our plan, but I would enjoy a victory every now and then and you have failed time and again!"

"My apologies!"

"Stop apologizing!" Drake shouted. He stepped forward to Ronald, who was prostrating in the middle of the Ouroboros symbol on the floor. Cedric, Bellatrix and Neville stood back. "Ronald, I am patient, but alas, my patience with you is gone! You have failed me for the last time, Ronald!"

Ronald was in a state of pure terror as Drake stood over him, glaring at him. Bellatrix looked at her lover in a very concerned manner and Neville quietly slipped out of the room. Ronald shuddered in fear. Cedric looked as if he was ready to intervene to try and save his friend's skin.

But Drake did nothing. "I cannot kill you," he said. "I am not like many a movie villain who can kill his subordinates at will; I do not have those resources. And besides, you are a valuable member of this society."

"Thank you Drake!" Ronald said with relief.

"HOWEVER!" Drake interrupted. "That does not mean I cannot punish you. Instead of killing you, I will leave you alive. But, you are not to go on any more missions for the Society. You will be demoted to a mere JANITOR! Instead of died instantaneously, you will rot in your status. If our plan succeeds, I may reconsider. However, if we fail, you will live with your failures for the rest of your life!"

Ronald heard enough and ran out of the room. Cedric followed his friend out of the room. Drake sat back at his desk, holding his head in shame. "I did not wish to do that," he said. "But I feel as though I must have."

"I do not like it either," said Bellatrix. "In fact, I fear what may come net."

Ronald was in a hallway in the Society's compound still retreating from the talking to he got from Drake. There were several emotions running through his head, and none of them were good. He leaned against a wall, overcome with so many emotions running through his head. Eventually, one emotion asserted itself. "DAMMIT!" he shouted, slamming his fist against the wall and cracking it.

"Ronald!" Cedric said, finally catching up.

"Hello Cedric," he said.

"Ronald, I'm truly sorry," said Cedric. "I will discuss the matter with Drake, he might—"

"BUT HE WON'T WILL HE!?" Drake shouted. "I was once the most feared alchemist in the Americas. Anyone who heard of me and my deeds trembled! The Society's enemies knew their place as soon as I introduced myself to them. I was UNSTOPPABLE! Until this August…

"Those damn kids," he growled. "I was the first one they fought, and they defeated my Mannequins like they were DOLLS! NO ONE can defeat the Mannequins, but they did! And every time I faced them, I came close to victory only to have it snatched from me by those PESTS!" He was nearly in Cedric's face. "And the worse part is, they had no idea who I was.

"They mocked me, Cedric. MOCKED ME! They mocked my reputation, said I hadn't fought any real enemies; I fought the strongest alchemist in CHINA! HE had as much power as Drake, and I made him look weak! DAMN those Rangers!

"But no more, I will not stand for this," he said with pure rage, malice and hatred in his eyes. "They will pay. I will show them true pain. If they think that studying for their silly little university is painful, wait until I am through with them. They will beg for my mercy, Cedric."

"Ronald," said Cedric. "Calm yourself. You know what our teacher—"

"DON'T INTERFERE, CEDRIC!" he shouted. Cedric backed off. "When they were still in their diapers, I was transmuting lead into gold. While they were starting their silly training, I killed my first enemy. No, they must learn their place. We should have expanded our influence to the non-alchemical world! Instead, we are the subject of a silly little cartoon!

"I will show them what they are dealing with! The Rangers _will pay_, Cedric!" With that, he was gone and Cedric could not stop him.

"Ronald," he warned. "Do not do anything foolish."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Sean stuffed his backpack and put on his North Face vest after another lethargic class. Ever since the failure of Wednesday, he and the others had been trying to find whoever took the black box. Unfortunately, it was a miserable failure. They could not track the black box and other than a couple of CCTV videos, they had no way of knowing where exactly the guy went.

It had been two days and still no attacks from the Ouroboros Society. He was sure they were going to come to campus and try to find it themselves. And just what was it that he was looking for? Frustration was beginning to boil over for him as he walked out of the classroom. Faner Hall was packed with students trying to get through the maze and out onto the pavement.

He got out pretty quickly, but with some difficulty and the next stop was his class with Professor McDonald and Maria. There was a shortcut that went right between Morris Library's back entrance and the north end of Thompson Woods that was a quicker route to Lawson then going around Morris Library, past the Old Baptist Foundation building and Pulliam.

While stuffing his hands into his vest, he did not see someone coming up behind him and giving him a little shove. Yes, even super soldiers with the best reflexes and incredibly strong bodies can be caught off guard when someone comes up behind them. A quick reflexive turn-around brought him face-to-face with his best friend. "Dammit, Marty!"

"Dude, dude, dude!" Marty said, completely excited and trying to tell Sean something.

"Well, 'dude' what?" said Sean. "What are you trying to say?"

"I found something man!" he said.

"Really?" said Sean.

"Well, I-I-I-I don't know what it is, but—"

"Then why are ya tellin' me?" he said.

"Man, I don't know who to go to about it!" Marty said, getting in front of Sean right in front of the greenhouses.

"Man, I gotta get to class!" said Sean.

"But it's the same one," said Marty.

"Oh, right. So, where is this thing you found?"

"Oh, damn. I… left it at my apartment."

"Then why the hell are you asking me!?" Sean snapped. "Oh, sorry about that, I'm just feeling a little angry right now."

"About what?"

"I don't know, maybe all these damn cheeseheads, stress, a bunch of stuff!"

"Sorry dude," said Marty. "Whaddaya say we go to Pinch tonight and forget about it?"

"Eh, that sounds fine," said Sean. "I'll probably invite some friends with me, too."

"Like that Mexic—"

"_Venezuelan_."

"Venezuelan girl?"

"Yeah, I'll invite Maria," said Sean. "And now, I have to get to class!"

"Hey, wait up, dude!"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Drake was looking around the Society's compound. His steps were hurried and frantic, and he looked around. "Where is he?" he said to no one in particular. He ran into two Society members, wearing the cloak of initiates. They froze when they saw him coming towards them. "YOU!" he said. "Have you seen Ronald?"

"No," said one of them. "Is he—"

"Damn," Drake muttered under his breath. "He must be around here somewhere."

"Cedric also told us to watch for him," said one of the initiates. "Why must you find him?"

"I fear he may be making a rash decision," said Drake. "I must find him before he lets his anger overwhelm him."

"Have you found Cedric?" said the other initiate. "Might you know where Ronald will go?"

"I must find Cedric too," said Drake. "And if Ronald is going to make his decision, I already know where he will be going."

"After the Rangers?"

"Yes," said Drake. "But if he does, I fear for his life."

Ronald was about two floors below Drake. Neville was preparing a transmutation circle for him and looking up at him in concern. And yet, Ronald watched with the most wrathful face imaginable. "HURRY UP!" he shouted. Neville paused and looked at Ronald.

"Are you certain you wish to—"

"OF COURSE I AM!" Ronald shouted. "NOW HURRY UP!"

"A circle like this takes time," said Neville. _I hope he believes that_.

"Fine," Ronald scoffed.

_He believes me!_ Neville thought.

"But you'd better hurry up!" he said.

"Yes, yes, of course!" said Neville. _I might as well procrastinate as much as I can_.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Sean listened to Professor McDonald give his lecture (the actual subject of the class shall not be revealed) with his jaw on his hand and his elbow on the little desk on his seat's handrest. He jotted down notes every now and then, copying off the words on the professor's power point presentation. A quick look to his left saw Maria transfixed with a face of pure concentration on the professor. A look to his right and he saw Marty coming close to falling asleep.

He kicked Marty in the shin to wake up his friend. Marty snorted, interrupting the professor for a second before the professor shrugged and went back to his lecture. Marty fumed while Sean slowly shook his head and pointed at the professor. He also gestured with his eyes to hammer home the message.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Drake was becoming much more desperate to find Ronald. He frantically ran through the building, running into Bellatrix and telling her to find Ronald quickly. Not only that, he was looking for Cedric. And he found him on the third floor. "Cedric!" he said. "I must find Ronald!"

"Why?" asked Cedric.

"I fear he may be about to make a rash decision," said Drake. "He will be going to… Cedric, what do you know?"

"I did not think he was serious!" said Cedric. "I can only think of one location; Neville's workspace."

"Of course!" said Drake. "Why did I not think of that? Come, Cedric, we must stop Ronald!"

Unfortunately for both of them, Ronald had grown tired of Neville's stalling and forced him to complete the teleportation circle much more quickly. A teleportation circle certainly requires a great deal of energy, but for a master alchemist like Neville, is of no concern for him. Ronald stepped in the circle. "Activate it!" said Ronald.

"Yes, of course!" said Neville. The circle activated and Ronald tensed up as his body was broken down to be transported to the SIU campus.

"RONALD!" he heard. Drake and Cedric appeared in the workspace right as Ronald was nearly completely broken down.

"Sorry Drake," he said. "But I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago!"

"RONALD, CEASE THIS FOOLISHNESS!" Drake shouted. "NEVILLE!"

"I cannot!" said Neville. "It's too late!" It was indeed as Ronald disappeared.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

After class Sean and Maria stopped outside into the Lawson lobby with windows out into the campus to stop at the vending machines. Sean got a Dr P*pp*r and Maria got some water before the two left the hall to head for the Student Center, taking the long way past Pulliam Hall. "So you're still not mad about the rescue, right?" asked Sean.

"A little bit," said Maria. "We had that bird on the ropes."

"Sure," said Sean. "You still needed our help."

"Will you stop that?" she said, shoving him off the sidewalk.

"Hey! Take it easy!" said Sean. Maria chuckled as did he. "Still wish we had a lead on that guy who took the package, though." They walked towards Woody Hall and about to make the turn towards the Old Baptist Foundation.

Then, they head the familiar crackling of electricity. They stopped and looked behind them as a transmutation circle appeared in front of them. Sean put his hand out for her and pulled the bill of his Blackhawks cap over his eyes to shield himself from the light. They watched with an 'Oh Crap' look on their face as a familiar foe appeared on front of them.

Ronald.

"W-who are you!?" Sean feigned, hoping to get Ronald off his trail.

"You don't remember me?" he said "Red Ranger?"

"Listen dude, I don't know what you're talking about, so please leave us alo—ACK!" Ronald grabbed him by the throat and started to squeeze.

"Don't play games with me," Ronald said in a cold, savage tone of voice.

"Let him go!" Maria shouted. But Ronald whacked her out of the way. "SEAN!"

"I swear I don't know what you're talking about!" Sean rasped.

"I said don't play games with me!" Ronald replied, lifting Sean off his feet. Maria got up again and rushed Ronald, but he whacked her to the side again. Not Ronald had drawn a crowd of shocked onlookers who, if they had been thinking about trying to stop him, their fear overwhelmed them. "Do you have any idea what you've done to me?" he said, holding Sean above his head.

Sean shook his head. "You liar! Do you actually think you can fool me?"

"HEY! Put him down!" A voice called from the side. Ronald turned to his right and looked at Rob like he was a germ. "Put him down, now!"

"Stay out of my way, you glorified security guard!" said Ronald.

"I SAID PUT HIM DOWN!" Ronald smiled sadistically at Sean. He slammed Sean down onto the grass, causing him to scream.

"SEAN!" shouted Maria. Ronald quickly drew something on the sidewalk and the circle began to glow. A machine gun materialized, made out of concrete.

"Don't get in my way!" Ronald said sadistically. The gunfire filled the air and the students who had gathered around fled, their screams mixing with the gunfire. Rob ducked behind his police SUV and used his radio. "This is officer SS1975, I'm under fire and I need back up over near Pulliam Hall! Again, shots have been fired!"

The SIU public safety department quickly went into action. As a result of the Virginia Tech shootings (which happened during the author's first year at SIU), they have an alert system using e-mail and text messages to warn students and staff about emergencies on campus, and that system was in full effect right now as e-mails and texts were sent out telling students to evacuate immediately.

Aaron was in the student center when he received his text message. The word spread quickly throughout the building and the gossip began immediately. "What's going on?"

"Why do we have to evacuate the campus?"

"Is there some kind of attack?"

However, Aaron knew something was wrong and he slipped among the students to get outside. It was the same for Hitomi and Kevin who took advantage of the confusion to get outside.

Also, the local news media went into high gear. WSIL, KFVS and WPSD began showing reports of an attack on the campus. At the same time, someone was watching and took the black box he took two days earlier.

Meanwhile, Ronald literally had Sean by the throat and dangling above the sidewalk. He squeezed, caused Sean to gasp. "Why are you trying to kill me?" Sean asked.

"I said don't play dumb!" said Ronald. "Ever since I first fought you, you've made my life miserable, and now I've been demoted so low, I'm an untouchable thanks to! YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE!"

"I don't-I-AAH!"

"So I'm going to punish you!" said Ronald. "I'm going to strangle you _slowly_, so that you will beg for a quick death, and then I'll kill your friends just as slowly, no matter how much they beg, I will make them suffer the worst pain imaginable! And then, I'll come after this campus and kill everyone here!"

He squeezed again. "I don't—"

"I said don't play games with me!" Then he paused and came to a realization. "Oh, I see, you don't want these people to think you're the Red Ranger. Very well then, but I'll still use you as an example!"

"PUT HIM DOWN!" Rob shouted. He had his gun out and now several SIU and Carbondale police officers had surrounded Ronald.

"I'm not going to attack them," said Ronald. "They'll only come after me. Oh, yes, I remember where I was. I'll make you suffer so much that there is no comparison for the amount of pain you'll suffer! I am going to enjoy—OOF!"

Maria had tackled him and he fell to the pavement. Sean dropped on the ground, gasping for breath. A pair of police officers dragged him out of the way and let him regain his breath. After a few coughs, he got up and ran off to find a place to morph.

Meanwhile, Maria got up and ran off, Ronald almost grabbing her ankle and now he was surrounded by SIU and Carbondale police officers. "You're under arrest," said one of the officers. He moved to place the handcuffs on him, but Ronald swatted him away.

The officers recoiled as Ronald drew another transmutation circle. A club materialized. The officers recoiled again and now Ronald attacked. He smashed a police car and then connected with a pair of police officers. Gunshots filled the air as Ronald sung his club again, smashing a police car.

The officers ran and Ronald smashed another car and swatted at a pair of police officers. The scene was utter chaos as Ronald was on the rampage. "YOU INSECTS CANNOT KILL ME!" he shouted. He turned to Rob, who was not moving. "I knew you'd keep fighting."

Rob did not move, keeping his gun trained on Ronald. Ronald prepared to smash Rob, but that's when a flash of red kicked him in the head and he landed on the pavement. "THERE you are!"

"Get out of here, Ronald!" The now-morphed Sean warned.

"MAKE ME!" Ronald shouted as he moved to attack Sean. Sean jumped up and flipped, onto the green. Ronald followed suit, swinging his club at Sean and barely missing. Sean punched him in the jaw, and then Ronald punched back. Sean blocked the punch and countered. Ronald then gave him a nasty backhand that sent him tumbling on the ground.

Then Maria came in, kicking him in the head. Aaron, Hitomi and Kevin were next and they had Ronald surrounded. Ronald growled. Then he attacked. He swung his arm, knocking Aaron to the side. Then he punched Kevin hard in the gut. He went to Hitomi and kicked her way and did the same to Sean and Maria.

"COME ON!" Sean shouted. "GET UP!"

"Ow," said Maria.

"You Ranger flies," said Ronald. He kicked Maria in the jaw.

"You bastard!" said Sean.

"Then get up and fight me!" said Ronald. As if to say 'gladly', Sean got up and attacked Ronald. Ronald took Sean's punches and tossed him to the side. "Did you actually think you were a match for me?" he said.

Hitomi snuck up behind him and kicked him in the back. However, he took his club and whacked her and she flew through the air, landing in the pavement right next to Rob, who helped her get up. "COME ON!" Ronald shouted. "Where is the challenge? I came for revenge, and what do I get? WEAKLINGS!"

Kevin had gotten up and took his Octane Blaster, turning it into the Grand Prix Saber. He charged and swung, locking "blades" with Ronald. He groaned while Ronald smiled sadistically, ending their blade lock and then clubbing Kevin in the helmet. The Irishman groaned in pain, tumbling several feet away.

As this happened, Rob watched with a feeling of helplessness. He could not leave to morph, since he was needed by the SIU police. He had to watch his Ranger comrades get beaten by Ronald in the most agonizing way possible. However, that did not mean he couldn't do anything, and he provided whatever covering fire he could. Too bad Ronald shrugged it off. "I'll get you last!" said Ronald.

By the time Aaron was brought down, Ronald was getting impatient. "Is this all you've got?" That was answered when Sean grabbed his ankle. Ronald simply kicked him in the helmet.

Then, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He noticed that Maria had shot him there. "Feisty, aren't you?" he said with predatory and psychotic smirk. "You won't be so feisty when I'm—" An arm wrapped around his neck and dragged him away from Maria. She took the opportunity to punch him in the gut.

"I kind of like being feisty," she said.

"Don't you _dare _touch her, you sick bastard!" Sean spat in his ear.

"We'll see about that!" Ronald growled, grabbing Sean and then lifting him above his head. "I'm not going to break your back; that's much to quick! But I will do this!" In a very familiar scene, Ronald slammed Sean's back into his knee, causing Sean to let out the most agonized scream his friends had ever heard and then he was tossed to the side. Luckily his HUD was telling him he had no major injuries, just some severe pain.

"HAHAHAHA!" Ronald laughed evilly and manically. "THIS IS TOO EASY! I THINK I'LL DESTROY THIS WHOLE DAMNED INSTITUTION!"

"STOP!"

Ronald looked, and so did the Rangers and everyone else, at someone standing not too far off. "What are you doing?" said Ronald. "Get out of here!"

"No!" said the other person.

"HEY! GET OUT OF HERE!" Sean called. "Wait; is that—No way! _Marty?_"

Marty grabbed something out of his pocket that Ronald immediately recognized as the black box he'd chased on Wednesday. Marty pulled an object out of the box and inserted a card into the device and said, "GPX, Start it Up!"

There was a flash of gold light. When it faded, it was obvious how shocked everyone else was. Marty had morphed into the Gold Ranger. His suit wasn't much different from the regular Rangers' suits, with a gold top, white pants and gold boots. But it had the same rings that Rob's suit had, only silver-colored. On top of that, he also had a silver-colored visor. A gold numeral 7 was overlaid on a pair of wings, completing his suit. "GPX GOLD!" he shouted.

"Great, another one," Ronald deadpanned. "Fair enough, another one I can break!" Ronald rushed Marty. He put up his dukes and when Ronald got close. Ronald threw a punch, but Marty ducked and punched Ronald in the gut. Ronald recovered, but then Marty grabbed him by the back of the collar, pulled him down and started punching.

"That technique is horrible!" said Aaron.

"That's hockey brawling," said Sean.

"You said he was the worst fighter on your team!" said Maria.

"I lied," said Sean, "But it was only to piss him off. BUT WHAT THE HELL ARE WE WAITING FOR!? LET'S GET 'IM! Ow! My leg!"

"You wuss!" said Maria. She stood up, wobbling, but firm. And with Marty starting to lose, something needed to be done. But she too fell to the ground.

"I get it, I get it," Sean growled. Getting back up. "COME ON, YOU IDIOTS! LET'S GET 'IM!"

"Looks like he saw through it," Maria said, also getting up.

Ronald had Marty by the throat and thinking of whatever painful tortures he could when he felt a blow to the back of his head. Angrily, he looked and saw Sean. "Fuck you," he said. Ronald angrily threw a punch.

Only for Sean to catch it.

"I said fuck you," he said, returning with a much stronger punch that knocked Ronald backwards. "You want to torture me, right? Make me feel the worst pain imaginable before I die?"

"Exactly!" said Ronald, who threw a punch at Sean… who didn't even block it. Ronald may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knew exactly what Sean was doing. 'You intend to rob me of my victory… by dying easily?"

"If I can't win!"

"DAMN YOU, RED—" He felt a blow to the gut in the form of Kevin. Then Hitomi jumped up on his shoulders, twisting his head around. Ronald threw her off, but two fists connected with his face. Then Sean and Maria's feet connected with his face. Rob's bullets bounced off of him. He may be a bystander in this fight, but there's no way he was going to stand by.

Marty threw another punch at Ronald, connecting with his face and causing a bruise. "Now THIS is an Inigo Montoya moment!" said Sean.

But Ronald was not done. He grabbed something out of his pocket and put it on his hands. Gauntlets… and they didn't look good. "Holy shit!" said Marty.

Ronald punched Aaron in the gut; lighting flashing all around and Aaron flew several yards before landing. "WHERE THE HELL DID HE GET THAT POWER!?" Sean shouted. Ronald stomped on the sidewalk and punched the concrete that popped up, turning it into darts and things like that.

The Rangers' screams filled the air, as Ronald's new power turned the tide back in his favor. Rob ducked behind his SUV while he tried to get several students to run away.

Marty was screaming in fear while Sean drew his GT Sword and rushed Ronald, knocking away the darts and stuff. He swung his sword, knocking them away but got hit in the head. Ronald laughed evilly/psychotically. "YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS, RANGERS!?" he said. "YOUR SILLY DETERMINATION CAN'T STOP ME!"

"Are we gonna give up?" Marty asked, grabbing Sean by the arm.

"No fucking way, rookie!" said Sean. "By the way, we're talking after this." He got up and rushed Ronald again, only to get knocked back by the spikes.

Now Ronald turned to the stunned/dazed Maria who was lying on her back in front of him. A smile of unmentionable intentions crossed his face and he punched the ground, causing her wrists to be cuffed to the sidewalk. "I'll take care of you first," he said menacingly. "Tell me, are you a virgin?"

"No," she said, "But Red is."

"HEY! I told you not to tell anyone!"

"Damn, I can't take that away," he said. "But don't worry; I have something in mind for you." Maria tried to escape while Ronald drew a circle on the ground. She suspected he had something very bad in mind for her. She may not be a virgin, but no one should have to go through… that. It scared her.

When Ronald was about to activate his transmutation circle, he felt a pair of gunshots; Rob and Sean were shooting him, as was Marty. Ronald ignored them, activating his transmuta—"ACK!"

Maria gasped in shock and a louder gasp could be heard as Ronald coughed up a serious amount of blood. He could see that the spike he'd tried to summon had impaled him. He tried to get off, but he gasped in intense pain. Sean ran over to Maria and smashed the braces around her wrist and took her away from Ronald.

"Damn you, Rangers." He gasped. "HURK! Damn you…" His last breath was a death rattle with his eyes wide open. Blood trickled from his body onto the ground.

"Holy shit," said Sean. He turned to Rob. "We'll be leaving, with the Gold Ranger." Rob nodded.

"We'll set up a perimeter here," he said. "I don't think the Department of Public Safety will care about you, but… it looks like we have an investigation."

"Sure," said Sean as he walked off and grabbed Marty.

"GODDAMMIT, MARTY!" he shouted, unmasking himself and Marty in a secluded spot. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?"

"I wanted to help!" said Marty. "And besides, I tried to tell you!"

"Oh, right," said Sean.

"First Rob, now Marty," said Aaron. "Why do they all have something to do with Sean?"

"That's what I want to know," said Sean, "Looks like we have a seventh Ranger now if Maelstrom approves of him." Marty gulped, fearful of what would happen if he was rejected.

Drake gasped in shock while Bellatrix tried to keep him up. "Ronald," he said, struggling to find his words. "I never intended…" Bellatrix wrapped her arms around his head, trying to get him to calm down. "The damn fool…" She now turned her wrath to the Rangers. They were going to pay for killing Ronald, no matter how much of a monster he was.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Oh, dear, um… yeah, that was dark and violent. Well, I needed to develop Ronald and… this happened. Jeez. Um, I think this might be a turning point for this, so um, sorry. Please review?


	7. Bellatrix Attacks

Aaron: Previously, on "Power Rangers GPX SIU"!

Drake: You have failed me for the last time!

Ronald: The Rangers _will_ pay!

Marty: I found something, man!

(_Cut to shot of Ronald appearing on the SIU campus and lifting Sean up by the neck_)

(_Cut to shots of Ronald beating the Rangers and then someone morphing into the Gold Ranger_)

Sean: Marty!?

(_Cut to Ronald's impalement_)

Power Rangers GPX SIU, episode 7: Bellatrix Attacks

:-:-:-: Power Rangers, Grand Prix, G-P-X, GO! :-:-:-:

Sean wrapped his fingers in athletic tape while Marty watched nervously. They were at the Student Recreation Center a few days after Ronald's failed attack. He watched while Sean gave the punching bag a few hard hits. If he wasn't careful, he could break that thing off its chain. Maybe he could find a football helmet to wear, because that doesn't look—

"Hit the bag," said Sean. Marty nodded his head quickly and put on his MMA gloves. Sean stood to the side, folding his arms, which his sleeveless Naperville Central shirt displayed.

Marty got into a fighting stance, causing Sean to sigh. It must have been bad. "Shoulder width and bend your knees."

"Well, I'm not—"

"No excuses!" Sean interrupted. "Rob wasn't trained by SWORD, and look how well he does."

"But I'm not Rob!"

"I don't care!" Sean replied. "Do you have any idea what you've just become a part of?"

"No?"

"Oy vey," said Sean. "Whatever, just… let's see you punch." Marty got into a fighting stance, putting up his dukes while Sean watched. He threw a punch—"Keep your arms straight," he said.

"Straight?"

"When you wind up your punch, it's gonna go wild and leave you wide open, among other things," said Sean. "Extend your arm—like this—real quickly. Remember how you fought in hockey?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't grab the punching bag; just throw a punch like you would in a hockey game."

"What? And why shouldn't I wind up?"

"Didn't I just explain?" Sean said to himself. "Your punch should flow—think Bruce Lee, you know, be water. Aim to hit through the bag. Again, just think like you're in a hockey fight. Don't grab the bag, just throw some punches."

Marty nodded and got back in a fighting stance. He threw one-two-three punches. "_MUCH_ better," said Sean. He kept throwing punches; they weren't flashy like Sean's punches, but simple and could do their job. And they didn't look exceptionally hard, but when he morphed next time, they might do some damage. "Not bad," said Sean. "You learn well. Now you have to learn how to kick."

Marty groaned. "How long are you going to—"

"As long as it takes," said Sean.

"Dude, how long were you—"

"Since I was 10," Sean replied. "SWORD disguised their training as karate classes and things like that. It was designed to prevent parents from catching on. They even set up summer camps where we learned this shit and it still felt like a regular summer camp."

"Wow," Marty said his face blank with surprise, "And all this in case of some attack?"

"They didn't think they needed it," said Sean. "But then they found out about the Ouroboros Society, and found out all five of us were going here in the Fall."

"Contrived coincidence," said Marty.

"Look, just get into a fighting stance," said Sean. "Watch me." In an instant, he kicked the punching bag. "You lift your leg up with the knee bent like this," he said, lifting his leg, "And then you extend the rest of the leg, real quick. You think you got that?" Marty nodded his head. "Good. Try it."

Marty did the best front kick he could. It was sloppy, but Sean could see that he was trying. "I wonder if Rob is willing to spar," said Sean.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

The two left the Student Recreation Center, which is on Grand Avenue at around 9 at night. The Student Health Center is attached to it and just next door to it is the Wall & Grand apartment complex. "… SWORD called us up the week after we arrived on campus," said Sean. "They pretended they were friends of us and tricked us, basically, but we went willingly to their small base near St. Louis. Maelstrom asked us to take the morphers and we refused at first, but we took them anyway.

"Then a day later, I found Ronald and some Mannequins messing around in Thompson Woods. Unfortunately, I drew his attention and they chased me before myself, Kevin, Maria, and the Miyazawa siblings fought them downtown."

"So what do these Ouroboros guys want?" Marty asked as they walked down the street slowly.

"I dunno," said Sean. "We did manage to deactivate a transmutation circle that would have destroyed the city at the end of last semester, but we think they're up to something else."

"Dude, is that the Mexican girl—"

"Venezuelan—wait, what?" Marty pointed down the street, and it certainly was Maria. Sean was certainly surprised.

"You like that girl, right?" Sean whacked him in the arm. What was a light tap for Sean felt like a hard punch to Marty.

"Maria, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted to see you," she said. This earned a blush from Sean and a sly smile from Marty. A dirty look from Sean silenced him. "Are you sure we should be training him?" That thought died.

"He has the morpher," Sean replied. "And they may come after him, anyway. Do we have any other choice?"

"I don't know," she replied. "He doesn't seem like Ranger material to me."

"What do you mean?" asked Marty.

"We may be the first Power Ranger team in this world," said Sean, "But there's another universe where they're commonplace. And basically, we have to live up to their standards. That includes you. We're the best of the best, Marty. We're the ones who handle the stuff the Navy SEALS can't handle."

"Fuck," Marty breathed.

"It's a legacy that only exists in their world," said Maria. "But they're watching us, but not like how we watched them."

"You mean—"

"The TV show, dude," Sean replied. "Those were fictionalized versions of real events taking place in another universe."

Marty's head was spinning and he collapsed ass-first onto the grass in front of the Student Health Center. "Is he okay?" asked Maria.

"Dude," said Marty. "This is…"

"I think he's shocked," said Sean. "Marty." He held out his hand for his old friend to take Marty grabbed it and Sean pulled him up. "Where's your apartment?"

"A bit south of U-Hall," he replied. Sean nodded and the trio began to walk towards Wall Street.

"Marty, you've just become a part of something much bigger than yourself," said Sean. "This isn't like the army; I mean a world that almost no one knows about. Alchemy is real and there's a group out there that is bigger than the fucking CIA. Do you understand?"

"I need a beer, dude."

Maria laughed and Sean chuckled. "I think he'll do fine," said Sean.

They reached Marty's apartment, which was in a four-unit building just south of the University Hall dorm building. Marty's apartment was on the second floor of this building. Sean followed him upstairs to make sure he was okay. "Don't panic," he said. "I'll try to help as much as I can."

"Okay," said Marty. He looked at Maria, who was waiting downstairs. "Is she good?"

"She's one of our best fighters," Sean replied.

"Can she uh…" Marty looked around. "Do it?"

"Dude, what the fuck are you talking about?"

"You like her?"

"Yeah, she's gr—dude, not that way!"

"Sure," said Marty. He sounded like he believed him, but he really didn't. "So I'll see you later?"

"Sure," Sean replied. They gave each other a Bro Hug before Sean left, talking to Maria along the way. Marty watched with a sly smile on his face.

"Hell of a girl, dude," he said to himself before going inside.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Cedric and Drake were always nervous whenever Bellatrix was angry, but this was different. She spent most of her time over the past several days in her room, sharpening her knives and abusing a punching bag. The lack of activity ever since Ronald's death must have been making her restlessness worse. "Drake," Cedric said as he pulled his leader away from their room. "We must move against the Rangers and soon."

"No," said Drake. "We must keep our focus on the Project."

"But the Rangers are already catching on," said Cedric.

"No they are not," said Drake. "Our intelligence says they are focusing on training their new Ranger."

"But there is someone on that campus who may be aware of our activities," Cedric replied. "We must act."

"That campus is already on high alert," said Drake. "Ronald's foolishness has caused this. We cannot make our move."

"Who says we cannot attack the city?" said Cedric. "If we are to eliminate that on-campus threat—"

"Let me handle the Rangers," a new voice interrupted. Bellatrix, wearing a sports bra, was standing in the doorway. She must have been listening the whole time. "I want to avenge my brother."

"Yet he threatened to commit unspeakable acts to the Rangers," said Drake.

"I am not avenging that aspect of his character," said Bellatrix. "But right now, I am so full of rage that—"

"We must find a way to isolate the on-campus threat," said Cedric.

"DO I CARE!?" Bellatrix bellowed.

"Vengeance is not a plan!" Drake replied. "My love, I understand you are very capable of defeating the Rangers, but our plan must take precedent!"

"I can be a distraction," she said. "I will attack the city, and our on-campus intelligence can get close to them. They do not have to eliminate the target."

"You have been thinking this over," said Drake. "Very well, you may do this but just this once. I will talk to Neville and he will create a monster."

"Thank you, but that will be unnecessary, my dear," Bellatrix replied, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "I will go myself."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"… No, it's not spandex!" Sean tried to explain as he and Marty sat on under a tree near the parking garage near the Student Center. "I think I have a recording of the guy who helped designed it… Morris, I think was his name. Ah, got it." He took out his iPhone and opened the recorder app.

"_IT IS NOT SPANDEX!_" the voice of Dr. Wilhelm Morris bellowed. "_The material is a self-assembling nano-fiber formed with an intracellular sheet memory alloy!_"

"So what does that mean?" Marty asked.

"It means we don't have to zip it up," said Sean. "It's also laid over a robotic exoskeleton that enhances our abilities."

"Okay…" Marty trailed off. "I still don't get it."

"Neither do I," said Sean. He paused and looked up. An Illinois State Police car rolled past them. There were more cops on campus now. Ronald's attack changed things around here and close to a hundred people left the school before Sean had to release a statement as Red Ranger that the campus had nothing to worry about.

Sean stood up and left, leaving Marty behind. He still had some classes to go to, but Sean did not. As he crossed the bridge that connected the east side of campus with the main part of campus and walking past Grinnell Hall, he noticed something. There was some chalk art praising the Rangers, reading "Go, Go, Power Rangers" and "Rangers Forever". He smiled slightly. At least they had some support.

He got back to his apartment around the same time Aaron did, but the South African started working on his lunch first. "You've been spending time with McAuliffe," said Aaron.

"He's my friend and he's the new guy," said Sean. "What do you expect me to do? Throw him to the Mannequins and let him get gobbled up?"

"No."

"I'm not happy either, but he needs to learn how to handle himself. He's my friend, and all of us are friends, as close as family. Remember when you started out? After Rich Boy quit and you took over his job, you were mistreated, too."

"Did you have to remind me?" Aaron asked.

"Yes," Sean replied. "And it was right before November 1st and we had that big fight in Marion. You didn't even have time to get acclimated; you were thrown into the fire!"

Aaron sighed. "I still don't like it."

"I didn't say you had to," said Sean. "You just have to accept it."

Aaron scoffed and went back to his lunch, muttering about how Marty was an idiot and couldn't beat an egg.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"… During the confusion, you will go up to your target," Bellatrix said to an Ouroboros agent. "When he's distracted, you will slip the poison into his meal. It should be undetectable in an autopsy."

"And you're the distraction?" the young agent asked.

"Of course," said Bellatrix. "The campus and city are on high alert; any attack will cause an immediate reaction, even if it's far from campus. But for the purpose of this mission, I will attack close to the campus."

"And I'll have back-up, right?"

"You have to find your target," said Bellatrix. "We know his schedule; he typically has his lunch around that time in the SIU Student Center while on his break."

"And the day…"

"Valentine's Day," said Bellatrix. "I've had enough waiting. But it's best to plan out our attack. After all, Ronald rushed into his death."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Sean absolutely hated Valentine's Day. For two reasons: one, it's a corporate-concocted bullshit holiday, and two, it's driving home the fact that he's single.

So here he was, munching on some chocolate given to him by Hitomi (she'd made more for everyone else) looking at the dumb lovey-dovey couples rubbing their romance in his face, right outside the Student Center muttering at his luck and—"HEY! Didn't Hitomi make some for you?"

"I already ate it," said Maria. "Are you done with your classes?"

"Yeah," he said.

"If it makes you feel any better, I hate Valentine's, too."

"A little bit," said Sean. "Seeing some single people around reminds me I'm not alone."

"You're never alone," said Maria. "You have all of us."

"Thanks a lot," he said. "Almost makes up for the years of being bullied."

"It should," she replied.

"Still, today makes me wish Unofficial was today." 'Unofficial' refers to 'Unofficial St. Patrick's Day', which is celebrated at SIU and the University of Illinois because of A) St. Patrick's Day falls during Spring Break and B) it keeps people out of the bars on March 17.

"Look, we haven't had an attack in almost two weeks," she said. "Don't get cynical."

"And don't jinx us, either!" said Sean.

"Fuck you!" Maria replied. "And what about Marty, is he getting any better?"

"He's getting better," said Sean. "He's starting to get kicks down. He's been sparring with Rob since the both of them are about the same strength level. And he's gotten better, too."

"After seeing Hitomi's stash?" Maria asked. Sean nodded. She chuckled. "How'd he recover?"

"Two girls making out did the trick," he said.

"Typical."

"Hey, you like that stuff too," said Sean.

"I do, but I was only noting how typical it is for men to like that," she replied. "Besides, those kisses are fake; I've done it for real.

"TMI!" (Note: Read "Power Rangers GPX SIU Side Stories" chapter 4 to understand what's being discussed)

"This part of the conversation is over," she replied. Someone walked by quickly, nearly knocking her down. "Watch it!" she shouted.

"People have no respect these days," said Sean.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Bellatrix smiled under the pavilion on Illinois Avenue near Main Street. Her Mannequins were in position and she would hear any minute if her other agent was in position. Once that was finished…

"_Miss Bellatrix,_" her walkie-talkie buzzed. She took it off her belt.

"Yes?"

"_I'm inside the Student Center,_" he said. "_But he's not here yet._"

"Don't worry," said Bellatrix. "He will." She turned to an armored Mannequin. "Prepare to attack on my signal."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"Why don't you like me?"

"You can't fight!" Aaron replied, getting a bottle of water at the Saluki Oasis in the Student Center.

"Yes I can!" Marty shouted back. Aaron tried to get him to shut up as they paid for their snacks with their Debit Dawg accounts (accessible via their SIU ID cards).

"And because you stole the… thing." They were out of earshot of the cashier and leaving the Student Center, coming out onto the little drive-up connected to Lincoln Dr. and the remnants of McAndrew Stadium. All that was left of the Salukis' venerable (but clearly worn-out) old football stadium was a track and the football field. An SIU police car pulled up in that drive-up and Rob got out of it.

"Hello Marty," he said.

"Hi Rob," said Marty.

"You're lucky I can't arrest you for theft," said Rob. Marty was confused until he figured it out. At that, his eyebrows raised all the way up his forehead.

"You mean—"

"Silver," said Rob. "But I usually don't do much. I'm on duty most of the time and I have to get lunch so, sorry." He patted Marty on the shoulder and walked inside the Student Center.

"I'm fucked," said Marty.

"Yes you are," Aaron replied. Suddenly he felt his phone vibrating. He took it out and read the text from Sean.

"DWNTWN IS UNDR ATTACK," it read, "N ILLINOIS AND MAIN"

"Let's go!" said Aaron. He took off and Marty had to catch up.

"What about—"

"We'll morph on the way there!" Aaron replied.

"THEN WAIT UP!"

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

The scene at the intersection of N Illinois and Main St was chaotic. Mannequins were swarming the area, both armored and unarmored. They turned over cars and attacked bystanders. Many of the bystanders ran for the old train station or wherever they could. In the midst of all this chaos, Bellatrix watched with a wicked smirk on her face. _All for you, Drake, my love_, she thought. _In the end—Impressive. They're faster than I thought._

Three Rangers—Sean, Maria and Hitomi—had already arrived, laying waste to the Mannequins. The Mannequins noticed them and rushed them, but they were fought off by the battle-hardened superheroes. The others; Kevin, Aaron and Marty arrived a few minutes later.

Sean thrust the GT Sword through two Mannequins. He drew the sword and swung it, cutting off a couple Mannequin limbs and then brought it down on the head of another one. He jumped on top of the pavilion and then jumped down to tackle the Mannequins to the ground. "GT STRIKE!" A quick swing of his sword and the next batch of Mannequins were cut down, green (fake) blood spilling everywhere.

A Mannequin threw a series of punches at Kevin. Kevin blocked each one in succession and then elbowed it in the head. Its one eye looked back at him and it lunged at him. Kevin punched the Mannequin in the mouth. Then he grabbed it by the neck, revved up his boots and shoved the Mannequin into the group, clothes-lining a few more and then picked up and smashed it into the Mannequin group.

Several Mannequins had reached the old train station, but Aaron had caught up to them. He jumped off the Illinois Central engine slamming a Mannequin to the ground and then jumped back up, running along the engine and grabbing a Mannequin that had broken away and tossed it back into the Mannequin group. He got back down and started to fight off the Mannequins, driving them towards Main St.

A pair of gloved hands reached up and grabbed a Mannequin's head, trying to close its jaws shut. However, Maria got annoyed and grabbed the Mannequin's arm and then swung it like a baseball bat. Then she tossed it after the Mannequins were all down. A Mannequin grabbed her from behind, but she grabbed the Mannequin. Then she tossed the Mannequin to the ground.

Hitomi faced off against the armored Mannequins, blocking their attacks with her Am Staff. The smarter armored Mannequins worked as a team though, keeping Hitomi busy and attacking her when her back was turned. However, she stopped these attacks with her Am Staff on both ends. She stopped one attack, poked the Mannequin in the face and then thrust the end of her staff into one that distracter before tossing it.

Seeing a cannibalistic, one-eyed zombie monster is terrifying, especially for someone unfamiliar with them, like Marty. They swarmed the Gold Ranger, their pained screams filling the air. Marty threw his fists at the Mannequins, hitting whatever he could. However, they kept coming, knowing he's a newbie. They bit and bit at his indestructible suit, but it was enough to frighten him and—

A bolt of electricity passed through the Mannequins, they screamed out in pain. Marty uncovered his eyes and saw Maria removing her Haz Daggers from the corpse of a Mannequin. "Quit goofing around!" she shouted. "Behind you!" Marty turned and punched, the Mannequin's head twisted around at it fell to the ground.

Marty laughed in relief. Several more Mannequins jumped him, but he just threw punches left and right and began fighting back. Now he was getting the hang of it, right as he saw Sean running over to Bellatrix.

Sean attacked Bellatrix, but the alchemist jumped out of the way, pulling some gloves on. "Now, now, Red Ranger," she said, waving her finger. "You're not going to hit a woman, are you?"

"Oh puh-leaze, don't pull that bullshit on me!" Sean snapped back.

"Fair enough! I was hoping you'd say that anyway!" he clapped, much like Edward Elric, and placed her hands on the ground. A wall burst up from the road. Sean ran up the wall, flipped over and swung his sword in a precise and accurate manner at Bellatrix. She jumped out of the way and pulled a whip from her belt.

_WHIP-CRACK!_ The whip wrapped itself around Sean's right arm and Bellatrix began to pull. "HAHAHA! I've seen your fights, Red Ranger," she said. "You try to look ambidextrous, but you've failed at concealing the fact that your left arm is weak—except when punching." She had to dodge a punch from him. She tugged on the whip again. "You haven't faced me before, have you?" she asked.

"And neither have you!" A fist connected with Bellatrix's face, a fist connected to Maria's arm.

"Hello, Yellow Ranger," said Bellatrix. She clapped her hands again and grabbed a rail. She drew a hammer from the rails. "How do you like my weapon?" Maria just readied her daggers and bent her knees, ready to strike. Bellatrix lunged, swinging her hammer. Maria ducked and slid under the alchemist. She kicked Bellatrix. Bellatrix recovered and swung her hammer at Sean. Sean blocked the attack with his sword. "I understand you have a new Ranger," she said. "I hope he's not giving in to his own fears."

"Ah, shaddap!"

Speaking of which, Marty had gotten the hang of Ranger work, punching out a couple more Mannequins—with the help of Kevin, but teamwork is always a good option. The two were throwing punches and kicks all over the place. Kevin was a little more precise about his attacks, though. Marty got fed up and pressed his belt buckle. His chest insignia projected a weapon in front of him and when it materialized, Kevin whistled and nodded.

"A hammer?" he said. "Not bad."

"Well, I know how to use these!" Marty said. He wound up and gave the hammer a mighty swing. _CLANG! _The armored Mannequin fell to the ground with a massive dent in its head.

Hitomi drew the blade of the Am Staff from the chest of a Mannequin while Aaron chopped another one's head off. "I hate Mannequins," he said. Hitomi didn't respond, only spinning around and chopping a Mannequin's arm off. Aaron bashed the Mannequin with the flat part of his axe and then chopped it in the neck. The two then took out a Mannequin at the same time. But, "Something's wrong," said Aaron.

"_Nani?_"

"They only brought a few Mannequins, are they expecting to lose?" asked Aaron.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"Everyone, stay calm! The city is under attack!" Panicked shouts filled the Student Center, but SIU Police moved in to try and keep the crowd calm. Other shouts of confusion could also be heard while the police tried to figure out what their next move should be. Some of the Chartwell's employees tried to help some students leave the Student Center.

The Ouroboros agent moved through the crowd. He knew the face of his target and what he would be eating. This wasn't the first time he'd been sent to take out a target. But it was the first time he'd been sent to take out a major target.

He found him!

His heart skipped a beat when he noticed him talking to someone and turned away. And his back was turned, even better! The agent gulped and walked over to the target's table. He was so close he could feel it. He took out the vial of poison and prepared to use it. The target had his back turned. Sushi. That was his meal. If this went well, they'd chalk up his death to food poisoning.

The agent opened the vial and prepared to drop it in his food and drink. He was so close—

"Excuse me."

The agent stopped and turned to his left. An SIU police officer was looking right at him. His nametag read "R. Jackson". "Can I help you with something?"

The target turned around. "Is there a problem officer?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," said the officer. "Although he might think differently." The target looked at him. The agent panicked.

"N-no," said the agent. "I-I'm sorry I troubled you."

"That's alright," said the target. "I'm sorry officer, but I didn't get your name."

"Rob Jackson, Professor," he said. The agent didn't even hear this as he was out of earshot. Rob turned to watch the agent running away.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

_CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! _Sean's blade connected with Bellatrix's hammer. Maria waited and then, when Bellatrix's back was behind her, she struck! She cupped her hand over Bellatrix's mouth, surprising the Alchemist and then thrust her dagger—

Bellatrix twisted out of Maria's hand and conked Maria on the helmet. "Why must you wear such a thing?" she taunted. "Are you a coward to face your enemy?"

"It's called being a superhero!" Maria replied. She thrust her dagger at Bellatrix and connected! She grazed her cheek!

Bellatrix's hand was shaking. She reached up and touched her wound. Sean took advantage and attacked! She blocked his sword and threw him off. "Well played Yellow Ranger," she said. "But I'm not going to let a simple injury get in the way of our goal."

"What goal?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Cuz it'll make our job easier," said Sean.

"In that case, I shall _NEVER _tell you!" Bellatrix took a massive swing at the Rangers. They jumped back. "Our goals shall only stay in the mind me and my beloved."

"You mean Drake?" said Sean.

"What does she see in him?" asked Maria.

"He is good to me," said Bellatrix. Suddenly she stopped. Sean and Maria glanced at each other, then attacked. She knocked them backwards and they were caught by Aaron and Hitomi. "WHAT? You failed? How—a police officer? DAMN!"

"This was a distraction," Sean said in realization. He clenched his fist and ground his teeth. "NOW'S OUR CHANCE! GET HER!"

Bellatrix reacted quickly, dodging Hitomi's staff, then Aaron's axe. Maria's daggers also failed and Sean missed her with his sword. "Damn you Rangers," she said.

"So you were just a distraction, huh?" said Sean. He didn't say anything else. Doing so would alert her to their knowledge of the target, even if Sean didn't know who he was; he was going to find out.

"Even so, I will not go down easi—" Kevin's gunfire cut her off and she dodged it quickly. "Are you really a marksman? You—" _POW! _A gloved fist attached to a gold-colored arm connected.

"He didn't need to be!" said Marty.

"ATTABOY, MARTY!" Sean shouted.

"Kevin used covering fire," said Maria, "To allow Marty to hit her! _Esta MUY bien!_"

However, Bellatrix wasn't so happy. "Damn you," she growled. "My mission is over. I will leave you now, Rangers!" She teleported away before the Rangers could stop her.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"HOW COULD YOU FAIL!?" Drake shouted at the cowering agent.

"I'm so sorry!" The agent quivered. "A police officer interrupted me!"

"A police officer?" asked Drake. "What was his name?"

"His tag read 'R Jackson'," said the agent.

"Darling, his name sounds familiar," said Bellatrix. "Is he—"

"I do not know," said Drake. "If he is, he's in a better position than the other Rangers are. He must be dealt with. But we should not kill him."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Bellatrix. Drake smiled at her.

"Our friend," said Drake.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"… So Kevin said he'd give me some covering fire and give me enough time to deck that bitch," said Marty.

"Teamwork doesn't hurt," said Sean. "Looks like you're starting to get the hang of this."

"Kinda," said Maria. Aaron scoffed and muttered something about 'beginner's luck'.

Sean's iPhone started to ring. Rob's name was on the caller ID. "Yeah? So someone came up to a professor and…" He held his hand over the phone. "I think this might be our break! Who was he? Professor Nelson? Who?"

"Professor Nelson?" said Aaron. "He's my chemistry professor!"

"So what happened? … Okay, so whatever was in that thing you think it was poison? And you… Damn. Well, at least we have something now. Alright, bye."

"What do you mean we have something?" asked Marty.

"The Ouroboros Society doesn't go after random people," said Sean. "Ndebele, you think you can talk to him?"

"Probably," said Aaron.

"Then it looks like the Ouroboros Society just made its first big mistake."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Hitomi VO: "Next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Drake: "That officer got in our way."

Aaron: "Professor Nelson?"

Prof. Nelson: "What can I help you with?"

Bridget: "Wait, a transfer?"

_Cut to shot of Rob fighting an armadillo monster_

Sean: "GET 'IM, SILVER!"

Hitomi VO: "That's next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Okay, so how was that? I needed some explanation as to how these characters became Power Rangers, so Marty made a good audience surrogate to explain some things.

So a bit of an explanation, here: this universe's _Power Rangers _show isn't quite the same as ours, as this is an AU, after all. This universe's _Power Rangers _show has much of the same plots as ours, but with subtle differences, so the Jason seen in an earlier episode fought different monsters than the ones that the character Jason fought in this universe's _Mighty Morphin Power Rangers_.

Also, this idea of the creators using the same names as the real Rangers was partially inspired by a _Justice League _episode where some superheroes from an alternate universe populated by Green Lantern's favorite superheroes and Martian Manhunter came up with the possibility that the creators were receiving psychic visions of this particular universe.

Also, please review. How many faves do I have? Quit favin' and review, dammit! The button is right down there!


	8. The Circle

Kevin VO: "Previously on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Sean: "He has the Morpher, do we have any other choice?"

Maria: "He doesn't seem like Ranger material to me."

Bellatrix: "I want to avenge my brother."

Bellatrix: "You will slip the poison into his meal."

(_Cut to shot of an assassin attempting to poison a professor, only to be stopped by Rob_)

Rob: "Can I help you with something?"

(_Cut to shot of Marty punching Bellatrix and then Bellatrix holding her cheek_)

Bellatrix: "My mission is over. I will leave you now Rangers!"

Power Rangers GPX SIU, episode 8: The Circle

:-:-:-: Power Rangers Grand Prix, G-P-X, Go! :-:-:-:

"That officer got in our way," Drake said, sitting at his desk and examining a clay figure.

"Drake, just how are we going to get that officer out of our way?" asked Cedric.

"Stop your worrying Cedric," said Drake. "The problem has already been dealt with… well, not fully, anyway."

"What do you mean—Oh! My apologies!" said Cedric. "Has Neville already been asked—"

"It will attack tonight," said Drake. "It is just another typical _Power Rangers _monster attack."

"So have all of them," said Cedric.

"An unfortunate necessity," said Drake. "I must hope they do not come across him, but given his position, I feel it is only a matter of time before they find him. In the meantime, prepare the next blood ritual. It will be necessary."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Dr Mike Nelson could be the best chemistry professor in the state of Illinois that doesn't teach at the University of Illinois or Northwestern University. A graduate of the University of Toronto, he's actually happy to be working here at SIU instead of at U of I or Northwestern. Maybe it's the setting or the freedom he has here. Whatever it is, he's resisted efforts by other universities to bring him to their school.

But he's happy here in Carbondale as we find him working with some TAs, grading students' tests. One TA came back from the bathroom, still wiping his hands off. Another TA took his fifteenth sip of coffee (tiny sips). That coffee must be getting cold by now. He must have been drinking it for close to an hour. He never liked Starbuck's coffee. He's actually Canadian, so he (shamelessly) prefers Tim Horton's.

"Dr Nelson?" A voice with an Irish accent asked. Prof. Nelson looked to see someone walking in his office.

"Can I help you?" asked Dr Nelson.

"I'm Kevin O'Donnell, one of Professor McDonald's TAs," he said. "I'm just here to meet with Leo." He pointed to another TA.

"_Hola,_ Kevin," said the TA named Leo.

"Are we and the group still scheduled for tonight?"

"Of course," said Leo. While Kevin was talking to Leo, another person walked into his office.

"Professor Nelson?" Aaron asked. Kevin glanced at him but didn't react.

"Oh, Aaron," said Dr. Nelson. "What can I help you with?"

"My grades," Aaron replied while taking off his gloves.

"Well, we're grading your tests right now," said Dr. Nelson. "I can't tell you what you got right now, so, I'm not sure if I can help you."

"I did notice I was listed as being absent on two lecture days," said Aaron. "I was there, and I have the notes to prove it."

"Oh, let's see them," said Dr. Nelson. Aaron took them out while Kevin continued to talk with Leo. As Dr. Nelson continued to look over the notes, Aaron decided to talk.

"Is there anything else I can ask?" he asked.

"Unless it's about your schoolwork, probably not," said Dr. Nelson. "I prefer not to get friendly with my students until they're not my students."

"Then I can I ask something?" asked Kevin.

"Shouldn't you be with Prof. McDonald?" asked Dr. Nelson.

"I just got off," said Kevin.

"Fine," said Prof. Nelson. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, my friend is a fan of the _Fullmetal Alchemist _series," said Kevin. "And he's wondering if it's related to modern chemistry."

The other TAs looked at Kevin as if he'd just said something crazy. However, "Ha, ha, ha! Your friend is into some interesting things," said Dr. Nelson."In a way, yes, alchemy is related to modern chemistry, but it took a few centuries to really get there."

"How is that?" asked Kevin.

"Well, the thing about alchemy was that its main purpose was to try and transform materials like lead into gold," said Dr. Nelson, "Never mind the fact that this would only diminish the gold's value. But it was also to try and find an elixir that would grant immortality and eternal youth to the user. Of course, that's not the point of chemistry, where we simply try to find out how the world works, like in most branches of science."

"Anything else?" asked Kevin.

"Symbolism," said Dr. Nelson. "Of course, alchemical symbols tend to differ from out modern Periodic Table of Elements, they're figures, after all. Look here." He showed Kevin some alchemical symbols for air and modern symbols for oxygen. While this was going on, Aaron noticed a map of Illinois with a circle laid over it. An "X" was on the map somewhere in the central part of the state.

"Aaron, is there anything else I can help you with?" asked Dr. Nelson.

"Yes, I need help with…" as Aaron talked to Dr. Nelson, Kevin got a look at the map. He took out his iPhone and took several pictures of the map while no one was looking. Then he checked his iPhone and said,

"Dr. Nelson, I need to leave," he said.

"But you just got here!" said Dr. Nelson. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," said Kevin. "Leo, I'll see you later tonight."

"See you!" Leo said as Kevin walked out.

A few minutes later, Aaron walked out of the Life Sciences building. He felt a tap on his shoulder and noticed Kevin. "Did we get anything?" asked Aaron.

"He certainly knows something about alchemy," said Kevin. "And we should send that map to Sean and SWORD."

"Done," said Aaron.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Rob and Bridget lived not too far from campus, close to the Schnucks on Main St (it's a grocery store). It was a nice house, not too big, not too small, about two stories and three bedrooms, one for each of their girls (Allie and Cassie).

"DADDY!" Allie squealed when he arrived back from a day on patrol.

"Hey, little girl!" Rob said, lifting the three-year old above his head. "Did you have fun today?"

"Uh, huh!" she replied. "I made a pict-ah!"

"You did? Can I see it?" He let the little girl down and she ran off to go and find her picture.

"Hi, honey," Bridget said, getting up from the couch. She's a young woman, in her mid-20s and looked very much like an older, female version of Sean. She wore a maroon polo with the SIU athletics logo. She gave Rob a big hug, which both of them appreciated very much. They met in high school in Naperville and married while Rob was still an active duty Marine (he's now a reservist). "Any arrests?"

"No," he replied. "It's been uneventful lately."

"After that creep attacked?" she replied. "Goddess, I thought this place was peaceful… relatively, anyway." Typical problems in this city include drugs, gangs and crime, not alchemists.

"Well, the Power Rangers have it under control," he said, going over to the kitchen counter to check his mail. "I guess."

"You act like you know them," she said.

"I've talked to them," he replied. "So what's the plan for the weekend?"

"Well, we have that BracketBusters game this Saturday," she said. "And Clyde Fraizer himself will be there."

"_Clyde Fraizer!?_" he said, apparently being unable to register that name.

"Yep, one of the greatest basketball players of all time," she said. "I'm actually kind of envious of this school."

"At least NU has a good football team," he replied.

"Sure," she replied. "If only they'd win a bowl game." As of January 2013, Northwestern has won a bowl game.

"Sorry about—" _Ring! _Rob's phone went off and he answered it. "Hello," he said. "Yes? It's from the Public Safety department!"

"What do they want?"

"Uh-huh, um, well, I guess… a transfer?"

"Oh, that's great! Wait, a transfer?" She watched her husband listening to the part at the other end. She watched his face change. He looked worried. She never liked seeing him worried like that. It was bad for his already stressful day.

"Okay, thanks a lot," he said, hanging up his cell phone. "Carbondale Police say they're impressed with me," he said. "And they want me to join the force."

"And why are you so worried?" she asked.

"They said they'd give me time to think, though," he replied. "But if I accept, I have to transfer immediately."

"But why are you worried?" she asked again.

"I like the SIU police," he replied. "And I have a bad feeling about this offer."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"Of _course _it's a map of the state!" Sean said when he got a look at the pictures Kevin took.

"Then what's that X over the state?" asked Aaron.

"Hold on," said Sean. Maria walked over to them, laying her hand on Sean's shoulder while he checked an atlas of the state. "That's Springfield, the state capital."

"I thought Chicago—"

"Nah, but it's usually mistaken for it," said Sean. "It is the biggest city in the state, after all."

"So what's this map for?" asked Maria.

"Does it look like I know?" Sean replied. "All I see is a damn circle, how am I supposed to tell?"

"So what else is this?" asked Aaron. "And why does it cover parts of the other states?"

"Let's see, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky," said Sean. "I have no idea; all I see is a circle with Springfield as dead center!"

"Well that was a lot of help!" said Maria.

"You don't have to be so sarcastic!" Sean shot back. "I don't know much about maps. We should probably send this to SWORD."

"What about the government?" asked Aaron.

"They're too incompetent," said Sean, "Especially with those stupid Teabaggers in charge now."

"Is a political statement necessary?" asked Maria.

"I thought it was funny," said Sean.

"We're getting off… what's the term?" asked Aaron.

"Off track," said Sean. "Well until we can get this thing looked at, all it is, is a circle over the state."

"What if it's like that… circle in _Fullmetal Alchemist_?" asked Aaron.

"What do you mean?" asked Sean.

"In the manga, there's this giant… circle think that sucks people's lives and…"

"I doubt it, but it's possible this might be like that," said Sean. "But right now we can't prove that."

"But it's not out of the question," said Maria. "Oh, Sean, did you get the tickets yet?"

"They're free for students," he replied. "Of course I did."

"What tickets?" said Aaron.

"Maria and I are going to the game on Saturday," Sean replied with a mischievous smile. "We're gonna see Clyde Frazier!"

"I thought you were a hockey fan!" Aaron shouted. "But why didn't you invite me!?"

"You can still go!" said Sean. "Tickets are free for students! Or are you envious that I get to see Clyde Frazier?" he said with a trollface.

"YES!" Aaron shouted. "I can't believe one of the greatest basketball players ever went to this school!"

"You can still go!" Sean replied, getting up and grabbing his jacket to go to Trueblood. "It's just that Maria and I are going on our own."

"Wait, are you two dating?"

Instantly, Sean and Maria turned redder than Rudolph's nose. Stuttering, they tried to find the right words to answer Aaron. "N-NO!" Maria shouted. "It's just one time!"

"Yeah, I said you were invited!" Sean replied. Aaron sighed. These two are _so _stupid! As he stormed off, Maria smacked Sean in the back of the head and mouthed something to him. Sean was about to reply when his phone started ringing. "Rob? Yeah, what—a transfer?"

"Transfer?" asked Maria.

"To the Carbondale police," Sean said, putting his hand over the phone and then talking to Rob again. Aaron heard Sean's conversation and was also eavesdropping, much to Sean's annoyance. "Wait, you don't? Why not?" Aaron and Maria looked at each other. Sean walked away. "So… you just don't want to? Sure, I guess. So what are you—oh, okay. Right, see you on Saturday."

"So what's his story?" said Maria.

"He said he wasn't sure if he should accept the offer," said Sean. "Something just seemed weird to him."

"Did he say why?" asked Aaron.

"No," said Sean. "He just wasn't crazy about it."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"So what did Sean have to say?" Bridget asked when Rob hung up.

"He didn't say anything," Rob replied.

"And why don't you have any good feelings about this transfer?" she asked, her face showing suspicion.

"I guess I just like working at SIU," he replied. His face was straight, both to show honesty and to cover up the main reason—his Ranger duties—for his skepticism. Whatever it was, he had a reason to be concerned about a potential transfer. In his mind, he wasn't that great a cop, anyway. Plus, the Carbondale police chief just rubbed him the wrong way.

A look at his adorable daughter attempting to dance to her _Sesame Street _movie broke his reverie. The look on his wife's face was enough for him to smile as well. Maybe things would work out… provided he survives this fight against alchemist.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"So what happens now?" asked Maria.

Sean scoffed. "I don't know!" he said. "I mean, we have a lead, just not one that's good enough!"

"I may have to go back to Dr. Wilson," said Aaron.

"And how are you going to do that?" asked Sean. "You can't tell him you have a picture from his office, he'll get mad!"

"I'll find a way!" said Aaron.

"Enough of this, _muchachos!_" said Maria. "Now's not the time to get angry with each other. Just calm down."

"Sorry," said Sean. He sat back on the couch, looking out over Grand Avenue. "Aside from the possible… what happened with that transmutation circle in FMA?"

"It sucked people's souls out," said Aaron, "So the person using it could become God."

Sean and Maria stared blankly at Aaron. There was silence; silence that would have been worse than the quietest place on Earth had it not been for occasional car driving by and other sounds in the apartment. "Holy shit," Sean finally said. "We'd better tell SWORD." He immediately got up and went back into his room.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Maria.

"I don't know," said Aaron. "It was just a guess." Maria let out a heavy sigh, stroking her face before getting up and going in back to check up on Sean. Aaron looked in Sean's room to see her getting close to him. Sean and Maria came out a couple minutes later.

"They're gonna investigate," he said. "They can't guarantee anything."

"Perhaps it's related to the tunnel we found in Giant City?' asked Aaron.

"I wouldn't doubt it," said Sean. "If there's another monster that shows up, we're gonna try and capture it, make sure we get some answers. Yes, I _know_ that's easier said than done!"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"So, are you going to decide yet?" Bridget asked while cleaning some Mac & Cheese off the pot. Rob sighed and put his sponge down. "Well, sorry, I just wanted to know!"

"Bridge, I need to decide on my own!" he said.

"Well, sorry if I wanted to—"

"Look, I haven't decided yet," he interrupted. "The person told me to take my time; I don't want to rush into something I'll regret!"

"You'd earn far more money," she said, "It's better than working as a glorified security guard."

"You know that's not helping," he said. He checked the time and walked away from the sink.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Some friends are going to PK's," he said, "And they asked me to come with."

"Fine," she said. "Go ahead."

"I won't stay too long," he said, giving her a kiss. "I'll be back around ten!"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

He left just in time.

Another monster appeared on the Strip, stopping in front of a car going north on Illinois Ave. "GET OUT OF THE CAR!" The armadillo-like monster shouted. The driver, not wanting any trouble, got out and ran while the armadillo lifted it up and tossed it. Several on-lookers, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather, ducked into Sidetracks, Wise Guys and other places. "Come on," Armadillon groaned. "Where are they?"

Its wish was granted just minutes later as five Rangers showed up to challenge him. "Where are the others?" he said.

"They're not here yet!" said Sean.

"Too bad!" Armadillon replied. "Mannequins!" Several armored and unarmored Mannequins appeared. The Rangers groaned.

"Great," said Sean. "LET'S GET 'EM!" The Rangers rushed forward and engaged the Mannequins, tearing through them to get to Armadillon. Sean was fighting the most furiously, grabbing a Mannequin by the collar and tossing it into a horde of them. Believe it or not, he was actually afraid of them when he first saw them (of course, that was only the first time). He punched another one in the face and dug his heel into the gut of another.

Kevin and Aaron were working together, pounding the Mannequins into submission. Aaron was more acrobatic, jumping around the Mannequins while Kevin just tackled and pounded them. Aaron got up, kicking a Mannequin into Kevin, which the Irish Rugger reverse roundhouse kicked right in the jaw. A Mannequin grabbed Aaron from behind, but the South African bent forward and let Kevin finish it off.

And Hitomi and Maria, as they usually did, also fought together. Maria grabbed a pair of Mannequins and tossed one to Hitomi. She side-kicked the Mannequin, then went back-to-back with Maria. The two fought off the incoming Mannequins. They punched, kicked, and tossed the Mannequins. Maria blocked a Mannequin punch and threw it to Hitomi. She put a boot in the Mannequin's face. "I wonder where Marty is," Maria said to herself.

Maria's question was answered when a gold blur shot out of nowhere and the ping of an aluminum bat could be heard. A Mannequin's body fell to the ground. Its skull was caved in. "Wow," said Hitomi.

"What took you!?" Sean shouted. "Is that a baseball bat?"

"Uh, yeah," said Marty. "I had it laying around the apartment, so I decided to bring it!"

"But a baseball bat!?" Sean shouted. "That's weird!"

"You're the one who wanted to use a hockey stick!" Kevin shouted while breaking a Mannequin's spine.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," said Sean. He and Marty teamed up to take out the rest of the Mannequins. Sean just kept knocking the Mannequins away. Marty looked like he was going to damage that bat the more he kept swinging away. Of course, seeing a bunch of Mannequins with their skulls bashed in was kind off… gross. Of course, if Marty used his hammer, then that'd be a different story.

But the bat gave Marty a competitive edge, so it was for the best he broke that thing. Oops, while Sean was thinking, a Mannequin was in his face. Sean retaliated, punching the Mannequin right in the jaw. He looked to notice that Amradillon had curled up into a ball—oh, crap.

"SCATTER!" Sean shouted. Armadillon's body barreled down Illinois Avenue, right at the Rangers. They all jumped out of the way. The Mannequins, however, were not so lucky.

"Wow," said Marty. "They look like pancakes."

"That's kind of morbid," said Sean.

"Dude, this has happened before!?" Marty shouted.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Sean shouted again as Armadillon barreled past them.

"Can armadillos even do that?" Marty lampshaded.

"Where the hell is Silver!?" Sean shouted. The question went unanswered. They had to get out of the way of Armadillon again. They already knew their weapons were going to be ineffective against him as a ball. What they needed to do was get the guy to unc—"Here he comes again!"

Armadillon barreled at them. They jumped out of the way, but Sean shouted "Get that guy to uncurl!" Hitomi jumped up and started log-rolling on him. She summoned her Am Bow, pointed it at Armadillon. When she found an opening—_THWIP!_

"GRAH!" Armadillon groaned as he crashed near Chicago Hot Dogs. He pulled Hitomi's arrow out of his chest when Sean grabbed his neck and pushed him down.

"YOU SEE THIS!?" Sean shouted, pulling up a photo of Dr Nelson's map and the circle around the state. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS!?"

"No!" Armadillon shouted back.

"Are you sure?" Sean replied, unaware that a Mannequin was sneaking up behind him.

"I don't know," Armadillon said while stalling. Sean crumpled the photo and looked about ready to punch Armadillon in the snout. The Mannequin raised its sword, about to kill him—

_BANG!_ The Mannequin's head exploded, making Sean look back and then to the side. Armadillon whacked Sean with his tail right as Rob thrust the Silver Sword at Armadillon.

"Who is that?" asked Marty.

"That's Rob," said Maria.

"ROB!?" Marty asked. "He's a Ranger?"

"_Si_," said Maria.

"Oh, fuck!" Marty groaned.

The other Rangers rushed over to Sean, who was still dazed from Armadillon's tail. His HUD said he was fine. "Are you okay?" asked Hitomi.

"Yeah," he replied. He looked at the intersection and saw Rob and Armadillon engaged in battle. "GET 'IM, SILVER!" He cheered.

Armadillon spun around, trying to smack Rob with his tail. Rob ducked and countered, punching Armadillon in the gut. Armadillon tried to hammer Rob with his fist, but Rob caught Armadillon's arm. He strained while trying to keep Armadillon from smashing him to the pavement. Then he kicked Armadillon in the shin.

"YOU STUPID—" Armadillon stomped the ground and then curled up into a ball.

"Oh, FUCK!" Rob groaned. Armadillon barreled towards him. He jumped out of the way and Armadillon crashed into Melange, a now-closed restaurant. "At least _we _didn't cause any damage," Rob said to himself.

Sean and Kevin grabbed Armadillon and rolled him out of the wreckage of the closed-down restaurant. They uncurled the dazed armadillo. "We'll show mercy," said Sean. "Just surrender and tell us what you know about what Drake is up to and we'll let you go."

"Does that ever work?" asked Marty.

"It's a good idea," said Maria. "Unfortunately…"

"Do you think I'll tell you idiots anything!?" Armadillon replied, right on cue.

"One more chance," said Sean. Armadillon replied by whacking Kevin with his tail. "Suit yourself." He punched Armadillon in the face. That made Armadillon curl back up into a ball and he rolled himself at the other Rangers.

"HEY!" Marty shouted. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE GOING TO DO!?"

"Calm down, rookie!" said Rob.

"Dammit, if we only had the Nitro Cannon," Sean growled. The Nitro Cannon used to be the Rangers' finishing weapon, introduced in the main GPX story, but it was destroyed by a Zordonian (in that continuity) robot called Gargotron. In this, it was destroyed by Ronald. "We need to break that shell," said Sean. "Not even our supercharged weapons can break that. Does the department have an RPG?"

"No, but the National Guard should have an anti-tank weapon," said Rob.

"THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?"

"YOU!" Rob shouted back. "I'm not a Guardsman!"

"Damn, I gotta do—FUCK!" Armadillon barreled at them again. They jumped out of the way and Sean tried to contact SWORD. "HOLD 'IM OFF FOR ME!"

"Got it!" said Kevin. "Get ready and brace yourselves!" he said. Armadillon rolled their way again. The Rangers (besides Sean) braced themselves. Armadillon crashed into the wall they created. Their tires spun and their boots screeched.

"Okay! SWORD said the National Guard should be here in a couple minutes!" said Sean. "We just gotta hold 'im off!"

"Easier said than done!" said Marty.

"Actually, it's not that hard," said Kevin. He pushed off and pressed his belt buckle. His Touring rifle appeared and he ran over to East Walnut St. and took aim. He shot Armadillon a couple times. The projectiles bounced off harmlessly, but it got Armadillon's attention.

Armadillon rolled towards Kevin and he realized just how stupid that idea was. But he reacted by jumping on top of Armadillon and shot his shell, right as the National Guard Humvee pulled up. "HEY! Do you have any anti-tank weapons?" Sean asked when he ran up.

"We have two," said the sergeant. "Why?"

"I have an idea," said Sean. The Guard sergeant shrugged while two Guardsmen came out, assembling their weapons. "HEY!" Sean shouted. "Get ready to use Supercharge!"

"What's the idea?" asked Aaron.

"We're going to use our Supercharge the same time they fire," said Sean. Sean then relayed that suggestion to the sergeant. Kevin rolled away from Armadillon, but not before kicking him away.

"Alright, get your keys out!" Sean shouted. They got their keys out and jammed them in their blasters and rifle. Rob pressed a button on his blaster while Marty look confused. "Press your belt buckle, you should have a—SCATTER!" Armadillon barreled at them again, just missing the Guardsmen. Marty pressed his belt buckle and a blaster appeared before him. "Alright, on my order, the Rangers will use the Supercharge, and the sergeant will order his Guardsmen to fire. Sergeant, ready?"

"Ready!" said the Seargeant.

"Rangers, SUPERCHARGE!" They turned their keys and their blasters were supercharged. The Guardsmen loaded their anti-tank weapons. "FIRE!"

"FIRE!"

The Rangers fired at the same time the Guardsmen fired. The Rangers' blasts hit the target first, and then the rockets blasted Armadillon. "You bastards!" Armadillon growled. He uncurled and his shell was cracked in several places.

"Now's our chance! FIRE!" The Rangers fired another round. The Guardsmen had reloaded and they fired another volley, too. Armadillon erupted in a shower of sparks and fell over, exploding. "Sorrybutwegottagoyouwerearea lgoodhelp, 'kaythanksbye!" Sean shouted as the Rangers took off.

The Carbondale police had the area cordoned off several minutes later. It was then Police Chief Arnold Granger showed up to take a look at the scene. "What's the situation?" he asked.

"Another Power Ranger fight," said an officer. "An armadillo monster showed up and attacked the intersection. The Rangers showed up and destroyed it with the help of some National Guardsmen."

"Are they still here?" Chief Granger asked.

"No, they left," said the officer. "We have an SIU officer here." Granger recognized the man and walked over to him.

"Are you Robert Jackson?" he asked.

Rob turned around. "Chief Granger," he said. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I take it you got our offer?" he asked.

"Of course," Rob replied. "I'm just thinking about it."

"Oh well, no rush," said Chief Granger. "But you know, you'll be getting much better pay and—"

"I understand," said Rob. "I just want to think about it."

Chief Granger's brows furled, ever-so-subtly, but he smiled. "Very well, then. Just respond soon."

"Thank you, Chief," said Rob. As Chief Granger walked away, Rob couldn't help but feel something was wrong. He didn't have any evidence or reason to feel that way, but something was bugging him about Chief Granger.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Tom Maelstrom was unaware of any new developments at first, but when a SWORD agent whispered in his ear that the Rangers got something, he wanted to know what it was. "Talk to me," he said when the agents brought him a photo. "What is this?"

"Red said Blue took a picture of that," said the agent. "It's a map—"

"I see what is," said Maelstrom. "And there's a circle around it."

"The Rangers sent it to us to analyze it."

"Are you?" Maelstrom asked.

"We're looking at it right now, sir," said the agent.

"Good," said Maelstrom.

"The team seemed pretty worried," said the agent. "They think this thing might rip people's souls out or something."

Maelstrom looked at the agent with his one eye. "Until we have proof," he said, "Keep assuming it's not."

"Yes, sir," said the agent. The agent walked away while Maelstrom wondered to himself if the Rangers had a reason to worry. He should have told the agent to make the analysis quick but thorough. There is absolutely no room for error.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Drake looked at the report, specifically the part where it read "RED RANGER THEN SHOWS ARMADILLON PICTURE OF A MAP OF ILLINOIS WITH A CIRCLE AROUND IT". He looked up at Cedric. His second-in-command was calm. He wasn't shaking. After all, he wasn't the one to blame.

"The Rangers must be dealt with," said Drake. His voice was serious.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Cedric.

"When we first met them, all we had to do was keep them occupied," said Drake. "Now they are clearly a threat. But we must not divert all of our resources."

"It will be done," said Cedric.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Marty VO: "Next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Drake: The endgame has begun. All we must do is defeat the Rangers.

Hitomi: Maria, what do you think about Sean?

Maria: _Que?_

Sean: So what is Hitomi talking about?

Maria: I don't know, she seems to think something about us.

(_Shot of Sean getting beaten by a wolverine monster_)

Maria: SEAN!

Marty VO: That's next time, on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Dun, dun, DUUUUNNN!

The plot thickens! The Ouroboros Society are ramping up their efforts! Tell me what you think, I need more reviewers than brankel1 (Il suce!)!


	9. Do You Remember Love?

Hitomi VO: "Previously, on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Kevin: "My friend is a fan of _Fullmetal Alchemist._"

Dr Nelson: "Alchemy is related to modern chemistry, but it took a few centuries to really get there."

(_Cut to shot of Kevin taking a picture of a map_)

Rob: "Carbondale Police say they're impressed with me and they want me to join the force."

Sean: "What happened with the transumation circle in FMA?"

Aaron: "It sucked people's souls out so the person using it could become God."

(_Cut to shot of Rangers fighting an Armadillo monster. CUT to shot of National Guardsmen setting up anti-tank weapons_)

Sean: "FIRE!"

(_Cut to shot of Armadillo monster being destroyed_)

Power Rangers GPX SIU Episode 9: Do You Remember Love?

:-:-:-: Pow-er Rang-ers, Grand Prix, G-P-X, GO! :-:-:-:

"Auntie Mawia, I wanna pway!" Allie whined while Maria tried to leave Rainbow's End, a daycare for the kids of SIU students, faculty and staff. Bridget is an employee for the SIU athletic department and Rob is of course an SIU cop, so Allie is eligible.

"Sorry Allie, but I have to get to class," she replied. "And your mommy wants you to stay in daycare." Maria was only there to check on Allie. Sean was in class and unable to do that. "You should be making more _amigos _and _amigas_. Go on, have fun!" Allie started to pout before she saw Maria still smiling at her. She ran off to go play with the kids. Allie may be in the Terrible Two's, but it's a good thing she decided to behave… this time.

"Are you done yet?" Hitomi asked.

"Yes, sorry," said Maria. "Let's go."

They left, walking out into a mostly-cloudy, chilly Monday afternoon. Maria stuffed her hands into her jacket, cursing how the weather had gotten chillier after the basketball game she went to with Sean (although Aaron eventually showed up) on Saturday. That day, Sean could not help but fanboy at Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Of course, Aaron couldn't help himself, either (basketball is the only American sport Aaron follows and he knows his basketball greats).

Hitomi didn't care about the weather, preferring to look at Maria. This made Maria understandably uncomfortable and she turned to Hitomi. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me?"

"No reason," Hitomi replied. Maria didn't believe her. She's probably hiding something. It probably didn't have much to do with the map Kevin and Aaron found in Dr. Nelson's office. SWORD was still looking into it. Maria was not happy having to deal with a plot that pretty came right out of a Japanese comic book. It had better be something else

… And part of that feeling was fear. If the enemy's plot really is the same as the one in FMA…

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Drake looked out over the expansive fields surrounding the Ouroboros compound. Several society members were leaving for the day. It was pretty early in the afternoon, but there's no reason for them to stay forever. They all have a role to play, after all.

But Drake wasn't concerned about them. He was concerned about something else. The goal they had been striving for… the Rangers were getting close. He'd underestimated them. He hadn't panicked because he knew the Society had the advantage. Their plan had begun a long time ago. But now the Rangers were close. And the Society's mistakes had allowed them to catch up.

It had to end. The Rangers must not be allowed to live. "Cedric," he said.

"Yes, Drake?" Cedric asked, entering the Society Master's office. "What do you need?"

"The Endgame has begun," said Drake. "The final stages must be completed. And for that to happen, all we must do is defeat the Rangers."

"You said that before," said Cedric. "I hope you are not—"

"The project is nearing completion," said Drake. "The Rangers must be dealt with."

"What about SWORD?" asked Cedric. "They are the ones who are doing just as much damage. One of our satellite compounds was raided by them."

"Yes, I know," said Drake. "It is a war on two fronts. But we do not have to worry about them. The Rangers are tenacious; a threat."

"I know that!" said Cedric. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying the Rangers—and SWORD, although I highly doubt that can be done—must be eliminated!"

"Very well then!" said Cedric. "How?"

"Tell Neville to send stronger monsters," said Drake. "But order the other members to continue the project and if they see and SWORD members… kill them."

"It will be done," said Cedric.

"And make it quick. The Day of Reckoning is coming." Cedric nodded his head and walked out of the room. "And if they do live, I may have some use for them."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"What's it like kissing another girl?" Hitomi asked right out of the blue. Maria raised her eyebrow for a moment, wondering just why Hitomi was asking this. She never really showed any interest in other women, if her "stash" was anything to go by. Maria sighed, thinking it was just curiosity. "You had a girlfriend, right?"

"For a few months," Maria replied. She filled the water bottle—provided by University Housing to all students—with some fruit punch while at Grinnell Hall. "It's much more different than kissing men. It was a lot more passionate, sensual and soft, especially the first time."

"Do you like girls?" Hitomi asked.

"I am bisexual," said Maria. "So yes. And why are you asking? Are you attracted to me?"

"No," said Hitomi. Maria turned away while she browsed the shelves. Grinnell is like a small grocery store where students can pick up food and drinks using their meal plan points. "What about sex?"

"Not here," said Maria, "Although I like sex with her just as much as sex with men. I'm very picky about who I sleep with."

"What do you think about Sean?"

"_Que?_"

"What do you think about Sean?" Hitomi repeated.

Maria froze. Is this what she was leading up to? A blush broke out on her face. She tried to find the words to say, but she couldn't. All she could think is was he was infuriating sometimes and his hockey obsession was annoying as hell. And yet, she felt some strange feeling towards him. He was actually kind of cute, but his looks were not the reason for this feeling.

She wondered where it came from. Perhaps it came from all those battles she fought alongside him. But the others fought just as many battles alongside him (except for Rob and Marty). But she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But there was something there. She needed to distract Hitomi. The girl would keep asking if she didn't have something else to think about. "You know _chica_," she said, patting the Japanese girl on the shoulder. "Have you tried the dating scene?"

"Um, no," Hitomi replied. "Why—"

"You should," said Maria, going back to a more energetic self that showed up early on in the main continuity but hasn't shown up lately. "If you don't start dating soon, it'll be too late and you'll never find the one for you. I started early, but like I said, I'm picky. Are you actually interested in girls? No, you're not, you like watching pretty boys crawl all over each other."

"What are you saying?" asked Hitomi.

"First off, if it's more comfortable, trying meeting up with other Japanese students," said Maria. "I know there are international student groups, I'm a member of one."

"Okay," said Hitomi. "Why are you—"

"Because you need to hear this."

"Hear about what?" Hitomi was surprised, but Maria didn't seem so surprised that Sean was standing there—okay, a little surprised.

"I thought you were in class," said Maria.

"I had a test," said Sean. "I got early. What are you talking about?"

"I was giving Hitomi advice about how to get a man," said Maria.

"Is that so?" said Sean. "Well, coming from a male perspective, you gotta watch a hockey game you'll—Hey, don't hit me like that!"

"You always inject hockey into conversations!"

"Not all the time!"

"Okay, but you do it enough!" Maria grabbed Hitomi. "_Vamos, chica!_" Sean stood there while the two walked away.

"I don't do it that often," he said before pulling out his phone.

When they left, Maria felt her phone vibrate and picked it up. "Great," she said. "Sean wants to talk to me. You go on ahead." Hitomi sighed, shaking her head and walked away to head back to their dorm at Bowyer Hall.

Maria waited for Sean outside of Grinnell on the foot bridge over Illinois Ave and the train tracks for a few minutes before he came outside. "What is it?" she asked.

"SWORD still doesn't know what the circle is," said Sean. "But then I got a letter today suggesting I speak to Dr. Jim Naughton, an anthropology teacher."

"Interesting," said Maria.

"But I already had him teach a class," Sean laughed. "They suggested he might know something about Native American shamanism. I mean shamanism? Alchemy? What do they have in common?"

"Is that what you were going to talk to me about?" Maria asked.

"I mean, yeah, you just up and left, I didn't have time to say anything else," he said.

"_Lo siento_," said Maria. "It's just… Hitomi was asking about something."

"So what is Hitomi talking about?" Sean asked, folding his arms.

"I don't know," said Maria. "She seems to think something about us."

"Well, what?" asked Sean.

"_Yo no sé_," she replied.

"Well Marty seems to think we're—oh, jeez." Sean blushed, turning away from Maria. This also caused her to turn away. Both of them wanted to walk away, but their legs were frozen. Maria tried to forget about it by looking at Charlotte West Stadium, the softball field, thinking about softball—speaking of which, she had signed up for a co-ed softball team with Sean, Marty and a few of their friends.

But Maria wanted so desperately to get away from Sean. Her legs were frozen. No matter what she tried, she couldn't run. "What do you… think about me?" Sean asked, breaking the god-awful silence."

"I think you're infuriating," said Maria. She didn't express this that much in the main continuity (where she's implied to have some feelings for him as well).

"Why am I not surprised?" he asked.

"She also asked about what it's like to kiss a girl," she said, changing the subject. Sean snickered. "You should have asked about that!"

"I can't, I'm too embarrassed!" he said.

"You're too embarrassed to kiss anyone!" she said. In the main continuity, she's the one who gave him his first kiss. Think about that for a moment.

"I know you hate how much I talk about hockey," he said, getting back to the topic. "But that's because it's easy."

"Fine," she said. "I just don't have to like it." Sean huffed, leaning against the bridge's railing. He was close to her, and she really wanted to go. He huffed again. "Stop that."

"Sorry."

"How do you know when you've fallen in love?" she asked. He just shrugged.

"I dunno," he replied. "Do you?"

"Yes."

"Than why are you asking me?"

"Just answer the question!"

"My mom said it didn't take long for her to fall for my dad," he said, "but they were teenagers. She said it took longer for the second time. Bridge and Rob have known each other since my mom moved to Naperville, so she's not sure."

"That's not what I meant," she replied.

"Well, I don't know!" he said. "Neither of them were any help!"

Maria sighed and looked up at the sky. Invoking her Catholic faith, she thought, _God, please give me a sign_._ Am I in love… with that asshole?_

"Hey!" he said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Sorry, I was just worried."

She laughed, thinking she was crazy. But she smiled; glad to see he was concerned about her. It wasn't a sign, but it was still nice.

"You know, the reason I love hockey isn't just because of my dad," he said. What's he going on about? "When I was a little kid, I was timid. I wasn't what you see today. My mom and dad said I had a love for the game when I was 2. They signed me up for hockey classes and, well, here I am. Okay, the Ranger training helped."

"So that's why you love that stupid sport," she said.

"It's not stupid," he replied.

"Well I think it is," she replied.

"You know what, I thought you'd like to hear that, but obviously you don't care!" he said as he got off the railing and walked away.

"Wait!" she called. Sean sighed in annoyance. "… I'm sorry."

Sean thought for a moment, wondering what he was going to say. Then she spoke again. "If that sport makes you happy, then I'm happy to see you happy." Sean chuckled and turned around.

"Next time the Hawks come to St. Louis, I'm making Bridge take us," he said. "And you can't complain!"

"Fuck," she muttered while he walked away. Still, a smile formed on her face.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

_Knock, knock, knock_. "Come in! Oh, hello. What news have you brought?"

"Um, we heard something from Ouroboros channels. It seems as if the Power Rangers are on to the plot."

"The plot? How did they know?"

"They had a picture of a map of the state with a circle surrounding it."

"… They're aware. The Ouroboros Society will begin its endgame. We must finish our work. Tell the others."

"Okay, I will."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

As Marty was leaving Morris Library, he noticed Hitomi passing by. The Chicagoan quickly ran up to her. "Hey, um, what's going on?" he asked.

"Oh, hello Marty," she said. "How are you?"

"Good. Um, I've been trying to find some stuff about the circle and I've noticed a few things."

"What things?" asked Hitomi.

"Well, I was looking on Google and I found an article from the 1800s," he said. "It said that there was some group that opened a mine in Wisconsin just south of Madison. They said it was a lead mine, but lead was mostly found in Southwestern Wisconsin."

"What does that mean?" asked Hitomi.

"It means that might be related to the circle surrounding the state!" he said with a whisper. "I printed out, look at this." He showed a highlighted sentence. "It says 'several figures wearing robes were seen in the vicinity of the mine and they were never seen again'."

"We should tell Sean," she said.

"Just E-mailed it to him," he replied.

"Oh," she said. Disappointment showed on her face, and Marty couldn't understand why.

"Hey what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You sure about that?" he asked, "Because—"

"Leave me alone!" she shouted.

"Hey, don't be so mean, I was just trying to—oh, forget it." The conversation was over. He walked back east towards his apartment. Hitomi huffed and stormed away from Morris Library. She bumped into someone, ignoring his shouts to say 'excuse me'.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Maelstrom was starting to lose his patience when he got the e-mail about the mines from Sean. Now this was the break he was looking for! "Tell the investigators about this article," he said to one senior agent.

"What's important?" the agent asked.

"Mines in southern Wisconsin that may have something to do with that circle the Rangers found," said Maelstrom. "Try searching some mines in Wisconsin and Illinois, there might be something there."

"What if this is a wild goose chase?" asked the agent, who kinda looks like Clark Gregg.

"The goose has to get tired some time," said Maelstrom.

"Director Maelstrom, we also got something," said another agent. "It's about that location in Wisconsin." He handed the article to Maelstrom. Maelstrom recoiled.

"One of the worst labor riots in American history took place there," he said.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"You're in love, _mi preciosa!_" Maria's mother exclaimed. It should be noted that they're speaking Spanish, but for the sake of our readers, it shall be transcribed in English.

"How do you know that, mama?" Maria asked, getting defensive.

"You've been in love before, haven't you?" her mother asked over the Skype connection. "You should know this yourself."

"I'd rather not," she said. "I hate them sometimes."

"And what about the times you don't hate them?" her mother asked.

Maria paused, trying to think about the question. There were times when she wasn't infuriated by his hockey obsession… was that the only reason she hated him? "And is there only one reason you hate him?" What is she, a mind reader? "Don't worry, it's a mother's intuition," said Helena (her mother's name).

"No!" she replied.

"You're lying," said Helena. "It's written all over your face, _preciosa_."

"I still don't understand why you're insisting this," said Maria.

"You called me and you asked me if I thought you were in love," said Helena. "I'm giving you my opinion. Perhaps your last girlfriend was just a good friend, and this person is your first real love."

"Well, why do you think I'm in love with this person?" asked Maria.

"Do you think they're wonderful to be around?" asked Helena.

"Yes."

"Are you happy when they're happy?"

"Yes."

"Are you sad when they're sad?"

"Yes."

"If they're injured, and they're close to death, will you be distraught?"

"Yes and—what are you getting at?"

"It's little, but I think you have feelings for this person! It might not be love yet, but it's close!"

Maria didn't want to hear anything else. She (politely) hung up on her mother when in a matter of good timing, she found out her morpher was flashing. Someone was in trouble. She had to go; NOW.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Sean pulled on his jacket while stepping out of his apartment building and walking west to get to the crosswalk across Grand Avenue. It was getting chillier out, more in line with February weather. He cursed under his breath, saying something about March. The cloudy sky was gloomy; Illinois gloominess sometimes feels gloomier than other parts of the country.

After crossing the street and walking on to the sidewalk bisecting Rinella Field, he looked over at the softball players practicing at Charlotte West Stadium. Why doesn't the baseball team have a better facility? They certainly should—"AH!"

He felt a massive blow to his head and he tumbled an unknown distance before stopping. "Ow!" he held his head, hoping he didn't suffer any major damage. When his vision got better, he noticed a monster coming right toward him. Out of reflex, he blocked and countered the monster's attack. He could already see people running away, but the people in BrushTowers might be watching. This was not a good situation.

He jumped back, his head getting clearer. He didn't feel any concussion symptoms, but he'd only figure that out once he morphed. The monster charging at him looked like an anthropomorphic wolverine crossed with the size of a bear. The wolverine swung its massive paw at him, but he ducked and countered, punching the wolverine in the gut. Then he jumped away and put on—"OW!" No chance. The wolverine swatted him away.

"I know your weakness Red Ranger," said the wolverine. "In order to morph, you have to let your guard down. Do not expect me to let you get away."

_Dammit!_ Sean thought. The wolverine tried to pound him, but Sean caught the forearm and threw it off. "Michigan sucks!" he shouted. "Let's go Badgers!"

The wolverine fell for the taunt and rushed him. Sean jumped out of the way, landing on the chain-link fence separating the field from the parking lot. "You miss more tackles than a Michigan linebacker!" he said again. He jumped and flipped again, pressing the distress call button on his morpher. In a matter of minutes, the rest of the team will arrive to help. But then, he felt a blow to the ribcage.

Marty was the first to get the distress signal. His Gold Ranger morpher started beeping and he noticed it was from his best friend. He didn't have to think about it. He just grabbed his morpher and was out the door.

It was also the same for everyone else, even Rob, who'd just gone off-duty.

Meanwhile, Sean was in for a tough fight. He kept trying to get away from the wolverine, but it was faster than he expected. Its massive, bear-like paw (obviously intended to make it stronger) was its best asset… and it had Sean at its mercy.

Sean's face was bloodied, and he had a gash across his forehead. He was trying desperately from landing in the dirt. His arm was also gashed up and he felt some pain in his ribcage. "Is this all?" asked the wolverine. "The mighty Red Ranger, reduced to a bloodied pulp? You're obviously—" The wolverine didn't get a chance to finish the taunt.

A streak of gold came out of nowhere, colliding with the wolverine. "What the hell took you?" asked Sean.

"Dude, are you impatient or—oh, this is where I make a snappy one-liner, right?"

"You kinda blew it," said Sean. "Now hold him off, I gotta morph!"

"Hey, wait—"

"Make it look like you're telling me to get out of here!" Sean whispered back. The wolverine wasn't attacking because it was too bewildered at what in the world was going on.

"Okay then, get going, get out of here!"

"Now you're catching on!" Sean said, jumping over the chain link fence.

"Hey, what the fuck dude, what are you—" Marty was interrupted by the now-recovered wolverine swinging its massive paws at him. "Hey, come on, don't hurt me, I'm a Michigan fan, too!"

"YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT!" Sean shouted back. Marty kept fighting while the call of "GPX, Start it up!" was heard and a flash of red light accompanied it before Sean jumped over the fence and punched the wolverine right in the face.

It was after that moment that the wolverine decided to rip off a certain comic book character. _SNIKT!_ "Dude, where'd he get those?"

"I don't want to know," Sean replied. The wolverine charged them, its claws (which were not metal, by the way) coming right at them.

Sean got out of the way, but Marty barely ducked. He collided with the fence. Sean jumped in and pulled him away. "Dude!" said Marty.

"We gotta get some space," said Sean. They ran to the middle of the field. By now Sean's suit had finished its diagnosis and the words NO MAJOR INJURIES flashed on his HUD. "Few," he said. A follow-up diagnosis showed he only had a bruised rib. "Jeez," said Sean.

The wolverine attacked again. Sean jumped out of the way, Marty struggling to do the same. Marty felt the blow from the wolverine's fist and tumbled several yards along the ground. Sean stepped between him and the wolverine, blocking the wolverine's punches and kicks.

Marty got up and ran into the wolverine, like he would in a hockey game. Sean took the opportunity to press his belt buckle and summoned his GT Sword.

…Only for the wolverine to knock him to the side.

Someone must have been angry because he heard a rage-filled scream running past. Sparks flew from the wolverine, and he could see that it was Maria. Yeah, he was just as surprised as you.

Sean didn't waste any time. He got back up and rushed the wolverine. Flashes of pink, blue and green also ran past him. He got up and charged the monster again.

They all had the monster engaged. Maria was aggressively attacking the monster, slashing it with her daggers. Kevin then slammed into it, mainly to get it away from Maria! Marty pulled her away while Aaron ran up the monster's back and jumped off its head. The wolverine hacked at Aaron, but missed. Hitomi jumped on the wolverine's head, too and she jumped off its head.

Sean got in on the action, raising his sword and taking a swing at the wolverine. However, he felt light-headed and missed. However, he stayed on his feet, blocking the wolverine's claws. Maria then took a couple of slashes with her daggers and the wolverine fell to the side. "Where the hell is Rob?" asked Sean.

"He's over there," said Marty. He pointed to Rob, unmorphed and in uniform, keeping the crowd away from the action. Sean shrugged and went back to fighting the wolverine. However, he felt light-headed. Some more blood was trickling down his head.

WARNING: BLOOD LOSS the HUD flashed. Sean grabbed his sword again and charged the wolverine, but he felt the wolverine's blow to his body and he flew several feet before landing.

"SEAN!" Maria shouted in an emotionally agonized voice.

"Yellow!" said Kevin, taking charge. "Get your head in the game!" Maria nodded.

Sean tried to get up while the others fought the wolverine. Kevin had drawn his blaster and started shooting the wolverine. Marty had summoned his hammer, and was pounding away at the wolverine. Hitomi and Aaron were jumping all over the wolverine and Maria was slashing away.

Sean raised his blade and charged forward. It wasn't a Leeroy Jenkins rush, and he stopped when he thought it was right. Then, when the wolverine was distracted, "GT STRIKE!" He took a big cut and sparks flew from the wolverine.

"Are you okay?" asked Kevin.

"I'm not sure," said Sean. "I may have to go to the hospital. COME ON! We can't let up!" he said.

"I don't think so!" said the wolverine. It balled its fist up and punched Sean right in the gut. Then, it took another fist and he felt the force of the punch, sending him flying.

"SEAN!" Maria shouted again. Angrily, she attacked the wolverine, hacking and slashing at the monster. The wolverine could not fight back, and it was forced backwards. She was relentless, almost merciless at the monster. She was going to kill it herself if she tried. "YOU BASTARD!" she shouted, her eyes tearing up. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

"She's scary!" said Marty.

"YELLOW!" Kevin shouted, summoning his rifle. "Marty, go check on Sean." Marty didn't even question Kevin's order, simply running over to check on his best friend. "Aaron, Hitomi, restrain Maria. SILVER! Get over here, we need help!"

Rob heard Kevin's request and ran over, morphing in the process. There was no crowd, so Rob was okay. "What's going on?" he asked.

"We need to finish this," said Kevin. "Sean's in trouble, we'll need to get him to the hospital." At the same time, Maria was dragged back over to them after she savagely attacked the wolverine. "Yellow!" he said, grabbing her. "Do not let your emotions get the better of you!"

Maria glared at him before Aaron placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. "Let's finish this!" said Kevin. "Supercharge!" They jammed their keys in their weapons and took aim. "FIRE!" he shouted. They let their attacks loose and they all hit.

The wolverine bellowed before falling over and exploding.

However, they could not celebrate.

"SEAN!" Maria shouted, running over to his still body. Marty had figured out how to make him de-morph and his bloodied, beaten body was on display.

"Oh, jeez," said Rob. Maria ignored him. Her knees felt weak. Tears started welling up in her eyes and she collapsed.

"Wake up," she said weakly. She stroked his cheek. It felt warm. He was still alive. But she wasn't sure if he was going to wake up.

"Call 911, NOW!" said Kevin. "Maria—" He was stopped by Rob. He shook his head and gave him a knowing look. Aaron had gotten up and called 911.

"Please wake up," Maria pleaded. She put his head on her lap, hoping this would help. She could barely hold back the sobs and several tears fell on his bloodied forehead. Hitomi watched this, her face showing an inner conflict.

"Come on, dude," Marty pleaded. "Come on, wake up!" Sean lay still and now desperation was starting to set in for all six Rangers.

"Please," said Maria. Something was brewing in her, and she wasn't so sure what it was. Then she remembered her mother's question about… oh, dear.

She sobbed again, looking down at his still face. It seemed like the others had nearly given up. "Please wake up," she said, her voice breaking. "I'm sorry for everything I said."

"What is she talking about?" Kevin whispered to Rob.

"Just be quiet," said Rob.

"But she's—"

"SHH!"

"Sean, I don't know I you can hear me but," she said, "I—"

"OW!" They all jumped. "Jeez, what was that!? Don't touch me there, that hurt!"

"He's awake!" said Marty.

"Of course I'm awake!" said Sean. "I was just knocked out and—Maria, what's wrong?"

She didn't answer him, only letting the tears fall from her eyes and she hugged his head while he asked her to take it easy. Kevin looked over at Rob, who only shook his head knowingly while Marty and Aaron just shrugged.

Hitomi, however, could only watch with a face that no one could decipher.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"The good news is, he doesn't have any major injuries," the doctor said later that night at CarbondaleMemorialHospital. "The bad news is he'll have to spend the night here so we can keep an eye on him. SWORD would not be happy if we don't take care of him properly." The doctor in question was in on Project Ranger, as were a few nurses and hospital staff.

"That's good," said Rob. "His sister was concerned, she thought he was, well, you know." Of course, Rob didn't tell Bridget much, just enough.

"Well, those Power Rangers are tough," said the doctor. He looked over at Sean, who was watching a Blackhawks game on the hospital room's TV, explaining several things to Maria. He was covered in stitches and bandages and hooked up to an IV and a blood bag. "He should be fine, and he'll heal up pretty fast, but watch those stitches and sutures."

"We will," said Rob. The doctor nodded and left. Rob looked again, chuckling at the two. Sean seemed determined to make Maria like that game. "He'll never change," he said to himself.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Maria VO: "Next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Marty: "How does it feel to be out of the hospital, dude?"

Maria: "Hitomi, are you okay?"

Sean: "So this Dr. Naughton guy should be able to help us out."

Hitomi: "I asked you how you feel about Sean."

(_Cut to shots of Hitomi taking punishment from Bellatrix_)

Bellatrix: "You're just the load, aren't you? You're nothing!"

Drake: "So, the Rangers have something we need…"

Maria VO: "That's next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

End chapter

So how was that? Was it any good?

I hope this whole thing about love didn't come out of left field, but I'd been hyping it up in the main continuity, and well, these guys have known each other for some time, so I'm trying to make this work. Also, don't expect this to overwhelm the story (thankfully), the next chapter should be the last chapter in this little love-related mini-arc. I still have a plot!

In other words, CUT ME SOME FRIGGIN' SLACK!

So, drop me a review, tell me what you think (No brankel1)!


	10. What's Wrong With Hitomi?

Sean VO: "Previously on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Drake: "The Day of Reckoning is coming."

Sean: "I got a letter today suggesting I speak to Dr. Jim Naughton."

Maria: "How do you know when you're in love?"

Marty: "I found an article from the 1880s, it said that there was some group that opened a mine in Wisconsin just south of Madison."

Sean: (_Fighting a wolverine monster_) "Michigan sucks!"

_(Cut to shot of Sean getting beat by the wolverine._)

(_Cut to another shot of Maria sobbing over Sean's still body. Eventually he wakes up_)

Power Rangers GPX SIU episode 10: What's Wrong With Hitomi?

:-:-:-: Pooow-er Ran-gers, Grand Prix, G-P-X, GO! :-:-:-:

"I can't believe I was sobbing over him!" Maria groaned.

"Well, I can't either," Marty said while the two sat at a table in one of the Student Center dining rooms. To be clear, she's confused _that _she was crying over Sean. Marty's confused as to _why_. In regards to an earlier chapter, he did notice Sean having an interest in Maria, but he was only teasing.

"Please don't tell _anyone _about that," she said. Okay, that was serious.

"I don't think I want to," said Marty. Maria sighed, rubbing her face in exhaustion. "You know what's wrong with Hitomi?"

Maria chuckled. Why was he interested in her? "I don't know," said Maria. "She hasn't spoken much to me lately. It's really awkward. I tried to ask her last night, but she went straight to bed, but I could hear her J-pop from her bed."

"You could?" he asked.

"She was wearing earbuds," said Maria. "I tried to take them out of her ear so she could hear me, but she grabbed them and told me to go away."

"I wonder what's gotten into her?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Maria. "Even our new friend hasn't been able to talk to her."

"I think that—oh, here comes Sean." Maria only glanced at Sean as he sat down next to Marty. He was bandaged up and he had some stitches across his forehead and sticking out from under the sleeves of his sweatshirt (which were rolled up). However, his hair was still pretty long, which meant he didn't have any cuts or injuries that would have required the doctors to shave his head.

"Am I interrupting anything?" he asked. "I heard something about Hitomi."

"I don't know what's wrong with her," said Maria. "She won't talk to me."

"Why not, you two are best friends," said Sean.

"I said I don't know," said Maria.

"So how does it feel to be out of the hospital, dude?" Marty asked, (temporarily) changing the conversation.

"Still kinda hurts," said Sean. "But the docs said I'll make a full recovery."

"They're just flesh wounds," Maria said with a chuckle. "Of course you'll make a full recovery!"

"Except the docs were worried I had a concussion," said Sean. "And getting back to the conversation, what are we going to do about Hitomi?"

"I'll talk to her," said Maria.

"Maybe it has something to do with why Maria was crying over you yesterday," Marty joked. Maria punched him in the arm. "That hurt!"

"Why were you crying over me?" Sean asked again. He had a playful smile on his face.

"Shut up," she replied.

"That was so out of character!" Sean joked. "But now that I think about it, she did cry in my shirt one time… although in her defense, that was after the fight with Ronald and she was pretty shaken." Sean had noticed that Maria was about to kill him before he mentioned that part.

"It's true," she said, calming down. "I should get going, I have class and I need to talk to Hitomi."

"Whatever you need to do," said Sean. Maria got up, putting on her coat and backpack and walked off to class.

"I think she's got something for you, dude," said Marty.

"You think?" It was a sarcastic question asked in a more subtle tone.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Bellatrix struck against invisible opponents. She swung her short swords with deadly precision. Each strike was a kill strike in her mind. She imagined herself fighting the Rangers; the ones (inadvertently) responsible for the death of her brother Ronald. And now with Drake's decree that they were to die instead of humored gave her a new chance to truly get her vengeance.

Three Mannequins appeared out of nowhere. She was surprised, but she recovered enough. The Mannequins were mindless and uncoordinated, but they were cannibalistic, agile and quick. She thrust her sword in the mouth of one that tried to catch her of guard and then freed the sword. She thrust her sword in a Mannequin's neck and without even flinching, stabbed the third and final one.

She smiled and then was surprised when she heard someone clapping. "I assume you unleashed them on me, darling?"

"Invisible targets are easy," said Drake. "If you truly want to see how well you fight, a physical foe is required."

"And yet you know they are mere toys for me," she said, wiping her sword. "Your insistence on humoring the Power Rangers confused me from the beginning."

"We are _Power Rangers_ villains," he said. "It was only natural we lure them into a false sense of security, if you wish to call it that."

"And yet I feel as if I am the one to blame for their discovery," said Bellatrix. "We should have left them alone."

"Your tone says you have two reasons for saying that," said Drake.

"He was insane, but he was my brother," said Bellatrix. "All I can think about to make that pass is the results of the Reckoning Day. And knowing them, I have no doubt they will do whatever they can to stop us."

"Then we must proceed as planned," said Drake. "The preparations are nearly complete. All that remains is the how to proceed on the Day of Reckoning."

"Easy for you to say," she said. "You have consistently had difficulties obtaining the power necessary. Unless we find that power source, the Day will not come."

"I am aware of that, darling," he replied. "That is why Neville and our other researchers have been looking into ways to make sure the Day of Reckoning succeeds."

"And in the meantime?"

"What do you wish to do?"

"I have not had a chance to fight the Rangers," said Bellatrix. "And since the Red Ranger is injured, he may hold back. Now would be an excellent opportunity."

"Very well then," said Drake. "I will give you a contingent of armored Mannequins. I know you like those better."

"You always know how to please a lady," she said, kissing him on the lips.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Maria noticed that Hitomi was distracted, working on a paper on her laptop when she got back. She quietly closed the door and locked it. Resorting to such tactics was shameful, but she needed to do that. She did the same for the bathroom door. _I'm sorry Hitomi_, she thought. Her heart sank as she thought about what she was doing.

But in her mind, Hitomi's strange behavior was too much. She was isolating herself from the people who cared about her and refusing their help. There's always a line that cannot be crossed. That line is Hitomi's complete withdrawal from the rest of the world. She wasn't going to be heavy-handed. She was only going to do what she had to.

She tapped on Hitomi's shoulder and the Japanese girl turned around, her eyes widening. "We need to talk, _chica_. _Ahora_." Hitomi tried to get up, but Maria grabbed her arm (standard female grab area) and held on tight while Hitomi tried to get away.

"Let me go!" she cried out.

"Not unless you're willing to talk about why you're acting this way!" Maria replied forcefully. "Everyone's worried about you, even Marty!"

"I don't care! Let me go!"

"NO!" Maria screamed. "Hitomi, you are acting like a child! Get your shit together right now and tell me what's going on!"

"NO!" Hitomi screamed again. That was the last straw.

Maria turned her around and raised her hand. _SLAP!_

"I didn't want to do that," said Maria. "But your behavior gave me no choice." Hitomi glared at Maria, rubbing her stinging cheek. "Now listen, I'm trying to help you, Hitomi, I'm your friend. And your behavior the past two days has concerned me. What's wrong?" Hitomi looked away. "Hitomi, are you okay?"

"It's nothing," said Hitomi.

"Liar."

"It's nothing—"

"Stop lying!" Maria shouted again. "I'm sorry I have to act like your mother."

"You don't hit as hard as her," said Hitomi. Maria stifled a laugh.

"That's good," said Maria. "At least you're not falling into depression. Sit down, and let's talk." Hitomi sat down at her desk to listen to Maria. "Again, I'm just wondering what's going on. You haven't been acting like yourself, and I know I sound like a broken record—American expression, sorry—but _please _tell me what's going on."

"It's nothing," Hitomi said again.

"DAMMIT!" Maria shouted. "You're hopeless!"

"Shut up!" Hitomi replied.

"Ugh, this isn't working," Maria groaned, wiping her face. "Why are you acting like a child?"

"I don't want to talk about it," said Hitomi.

"Why not?" asked Maria.

"Because…" the pause took a minute. Hitomi looked like she wanted to say something, but had no idea what to say. Maria was reconsidering even talking to Hitomi.

"Forget it," said Maria.

"I wish I was as independent as you," said Hitomi. Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Where did this come from?" she asked. "And does this have anything to do with your behavior?"

"I just wish I was like you!" Hitomi said again. "You're so confident, beautiful and awesome! And I'm… not."

"Well, I appreciate the compliment," Maria said, having her ego stroked, "I mean, what are you talking about? You're very independent!"

"What?"

"When I first met you, you were dependent on your brother. You mentioned him in your conversations all the time and you followed his words without question," said Maria. Said attribute is not something the author is making up; it's true even in the original. "But then you took charge for yourself and told your brother he was an idiot! _THAT _is independence! I know I'm independent, strong and fierce, so I don't have anything to be independent from. You, on the other hand,"

"Am independent already?"

"You just didn't know it," said Maria.

"I still wish I was more confident," said Hitomi.

"Telling Rich Boy he was an idiot was obvious," said Maria, "But it took a lot of confidence."

"Thank you, Maria!" Hitomi said, "I'll be sure to thing about that.

"That's fantastic," said Maria. "Now then, later I'm going to meet with Sean and—"

"Sean?" Hitomi asked. Maria looked at her

"What's wrong?" Maria asked. "What are you—oh, no."

Hitomi didn't give Maria a chance to say anything. She broke away and ran out the door, nearly crashing into someone in the hallway. Maria gave chase, hoping Hitomi wouldn't do anything reckless.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"This animation is terrible!" Aaron said, complaining about the quality of an anime they were watching.

"Oh come on, it's the 80s!" said Sean. "That animation is fantastic for the time period! I mean yeah, the space battles could be better animated, but I'll accept the idea that they were limited by the animation."

"Yeah, the Veritechs look great," Marty said, reaching into their shared bowl of Chex Mix. "Besides, it's _Robotech_; it's a hell of a lot better than _Transformers_!"

"That I agree with," said Aaron.

"So this Dr. Naughton guy should be able to help us out," said Sean.

"And that means what right now?" asked Marty.

"Just wanted to say it and—oh, nice!" Sean was reacting to a fantastic moment on his _Robotech _DVD.

"Are you going to tell Maria?" asked Aaron.

"Texting her right now," said Sean. "Done."

"You know, watching this," Aaron said while grabbing some Chex Mix, "kind of reminds me of you."

"How?" said Sean, "That I'd be a kick-ass fighter pilot?"

"No," said Aaron, "That you have two girls after you."

"Excuse me?" said Sean.

"No fair!" said Marty.

"And what proof do you have?" asked Sean.

Aaron paused for a moment and said, "I know Hitomi looks at you… what's the term?"

"Doe-eyed," said Marty.

"Doe-eyed! That's it!" Aaron said. "And Maria was crying over you two days ago!"

"And how do you—" He paused. "Oh, right."

"Why, because she—"

"No, Maria was talking about love before I got attacked by the wolverine," said Sean. "But who knows, maybe she was just curious."

"Dude, now that I think about it, you're kinda like Rick Hunter—and not that you're a kick-ass fighter pilot," said Marty.

"Okay, so you think I'm Rick Hunter," said Sean, "So Maria is Lisa Hayes and Hitomi is Minmei, correct?"

"That's the characters' names?" said Aaron.

"Oy vey," Sean said, facepalming. "Okay, if you want, I'll examine your little comparison. Rick is obviously in love with Lisa, but he thinks he likes Minmei. However, she likes him only as a brother. You can't prove Hitomi likes me. I know you said you've seen her making doe eyes at me, but that doesn't matter."

"Dude, you're still like Hunter," said Marty.

"Here's the thing; I don't like Hitomi that way. I'm not attracted to girls over a year younger than me!" Sean replied.

"So he likes Cougars," Marty laughed. This earned a punch from Sean. "Dude, you hit hard!"

"Getting back to my point, if Maria is Lisa Hayes, she's obviously more assertive about it!" said Sean.

"What are you—ooohhh! Maria's coming on to you, isn't she?" said Marty.

"Are you two going to—"

"Ah, shaddap!" Sean shouted. "Honestly, why did we have this pointless conversation? Let's get going, we'll meet up with Maria at Morris Library."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"Excuse me, have you seen an Asian girl around here—oh, I'm terribly sorry!" Maria tried to move through all the people crowding the sidewalk going past the Old Baptist Foundation building. She'd lost Hitomi pretty quickly. There was a good chance the Japanese girl had gotten lost in the crowd. Even though Maria thought she was conspicuous, Hitomi could blend in pretty easily. "_Ay_," she moaned.

The passers-by ignored her unless she actually talked to them. The only person she could think of helping was Rob and he didn't seem to be on patrol here. Out of frustration, she kicked one of the decorative rocks near the castle-like music building Altgeld Hall. Some people walking by pointed at her, wondering why she was kicking the rocks.

She decided to give up, at least for now. She needed to meet Sean at Morris Library. There was a shortcut past the University Museum (at the north end of Faner Hall) that went through a Japanese garden… that was too obvious. No way Hitomi would sulk there.

… Maria was wrong. Hitomi was crouching over the Koi pond on the lower level of the two-level garden. She sighed. Hitomi was too homesick to avoid going there.

"I should have known you'd be here," said Maria. Hitomi was frozen in surprise, but she took off in a hurry. "Again?" Maria grumbled as she gave chase.

Hitomi looked like she was going to head straight back to the dorm, but to Maria's surprise, she cut towards Wham and Pulliam (the two buildings are connected). "Hi Rob!" she said as she passed the bewildered officer.

"Hi," he said in confusion. "Bye." He shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee when he noticed Hitomi coming back around—wait, that wasn't Hitomi!

Putting his coffee down, he reached for his gun, adjusted his police baseball cap and addressed the approaching figure. "Good afternoon."

"It will be," said the approaching figure. She watched Maria chasing Hitomi again. She chuckled evilly and looked ready to give chase.

Luckily Rob noticed this. "Stay right there!" he shouted.

"I am not taking orders from a glorified security guard!" the woman shouted back. "I am Bellatrix of—"

"I said STAY THERE!" Rob shouted again, reaching for his gun.

"I dare you to draw that weapon," said Bellatrix, creating a hammer out of a light pole.

Instead, Rob did not draw his weapon, only taking out his morpher and calling for extra-special back-up before calling for SIU police back-up. "Stop right there," he said firmly. No reason to tell her he'll shoot; he's not allowed to do that unless she actually attacks him. Bellatrix raised the hammer and Rob quickly drew his sidearm. "Put the weapon down!" he shouted.

Just a minute earlier, Sean, Marty and Aaron had crossed the foot bridge when they got Rob's distress call. "We're on our way!" Sean replied. "Let's go!"

"_GOT IT!_" They hit the ground running towards Faner Hall, ducking into a small structure (that lead to the tunnels underneath campus). One cry of "_GPX, START IT UP!_" later, they burst out of the building (surprising some bystanders), racing towards Morris Library and the field where Bellatrix had Rob nearly at her mercy.

It was then gunshots rang out. Rob had started shooting as Bellatrix had attacked him. Fearing his life was in danger, he started shooting. However, Bellatrix easily dodged those shots.

Rob caught a break when Hitomi and Maria ran past and well, priorities. "_GPX, Start it Up!_"

"Oh, _there _you are!" Bellatrix said, looking _very _happy to see them. She dropped the hammer and drew her twin short swords, launching herself at Maria and Hitomi. Maria summoned her daggers and Hitomi her Am Staff.

Bellatrix struck first, her swords clashing with Maria's daggers. She had the early advantage, forcing Maria back. Then Maria dug her heels into the turf, locking her blades with Bellatrix's. The wheels on her boots spun. Then she pushed forward, forcing Bellatrix back. She threw Bellatrix off, freeing herself to get Bellatrix.

She thrust her daggers at Balltrix. Their weapons connected and clashed. Then she got a tap on the shoulder. She jumped back and Hitomi took over, giving Bellatrix a run. She forced Bellatrix back towards the library. Bellatrix was caught off guard for a moment but the alchemist grabbed Hitomi's staff. She began pulling on Hitomi's staff.

Maria was not about to let her friend be beaten like this. She rushed forward, thrusting the Haz Daggers in Bellatrix's face. She jumped back, "LIGHTNING THROW!" and threw a dagger at Bellatrix. But Bellatrix jumped out of the way.

"Is that the best you can—" _POW!_

A red blur came out of nowhere. Bellatrix flew several feet, tumbling on the grass, tumbling and stopping near some rocks and sculptures in this pseudo-quad. "You should know better than to hurt our comrades like that," Sean said, winding up his arm."

"You should be ashamed of yourself," said Bellatrix, "Hitting a defenseless woman like that/"

"Evil bitches don't count!" said Marty.

"You're getting the hang of this," Kevin said, sneaking up on Marty.

"Alright, let's do this as a squad," said Sean. "Spread out, surround her, and—"

"I'm getting her NOW!"

"Hitomi, stop!" Sean called. Hitomi didn't listen, rushing forward to attack Bellatrix. "Dammit!" Sean shouted. "GET BACK HERE!"

Marty rushed to try and stop Hitomi. She was already in combat with Bellatrix, their blades clashing and sparks flying. Marty grabbed Hitomi and tried to pull her back, but Hitomi threw him off. "Let me at her!" she said.

"NEVER rush blindly into battle!" Bellatrix bellowed, whacking Hitomi in the head with the pommel of one of her swords. Marty responded, swinging his hammer at Bellatrix, which the alchemist deflected.

Several shots, both blaster and pistol, rang out. Bellatrix hit the dirt and while Hitomi was distracted, Bellatrix swept her off her feet—literally. A well-timed sweep kick caught Hitomi off guard and brought her down. Marty threw a punch at Bellatrix.

At the same time, Sean rushed in, swinging his Grand Prix Sword (the sword configuration of his Octane Blaster) at Bellatrix. Bellatrix jumped back to evade Sean's attacks. She launched herself off a tree and kicked him in the face. Aaron was up next, along with Kevin. Kevin grabbed her hands and pulled them down while Aaron threw a punch at her face.

"How could you miss?" she taunted, ripping her hands out of Kevin's hands and punched him in the face and kicked Aaron to the side. More shots from Rob rang out and she noticed that several cops had showed up.

"You've got some powerful friends," said Bellatrix, "Too bad they're ineffective!" She pulled her gloves on, clapped and put her hands on the ground. Rocks erupted from the sidewalk, turning to dirt as the alchemical energy passed through the ground and then spikes erupted from the pavement, trashing a couple cop cars.

"University's not gonna like that," said Sean.

Hitomi recovered, getting back up and rushing Bellatrix. The alchemist caught a glimpse of her and held her hand out. She grabbed Hitomi's arms and threw it off. She clapped her hands and when Hitomi reached in, she grabbed her wrist.

Something happened, because Bellatrix felt a surge of energy. She grabbed Hitomi's helmet, shattering it in an incredible display.

There were wide eyes on both sides at what just happened. It was both in reaction to the amount of power Bellatrix displayed and the fact that Hitomi was now vulnerable both physically and in the secret identity way. Bellatrix recovered first, punching Hitomi in the face.

Maria grabbed her friend while the guys rushed Bellatrix. They ganged up on the alchemist. Sean went duel blades, his GT Sword and GP Saber clanging with Bellatrix, then he gave her up to Kevin, who teamed up with Aaron to throw a couple punches at the woman. Then Marty grabbed her and pulled her towards the cops.

Bellatrix elbowed him (he's wearing a helmet! How does that work?), and in his surprise, she clapped her hands again and pressed on his suit. The resulting combination resulted in an explosion erupted from his suit and he was thrown into the Morris Library waterfall fountain.

"Shit," Sean said under his breath.

"What just happened?" Rob asked, shielding Hitomi from the public.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Watching at SWORD HQ was Dr. Wilhelm Morris, one of the current leaders of Project Ranger, watched in shock at what was happening. There was no way in hell the enemy had this kind of power. The sounds of SWORD staff relaying (useless and/or obvious) information was enough for him and he rubbed his face. He reached in his labcoat, looking for his pack of smokes.

"No smoking," a familiar voice said.

"Great way to keep me stressed, Maelstrom," said Morris. He looked back to the screen. Bellatrix had the Rangers on the ropes.

"Something happened," said Maelstrom. "But what?"

"I don't know," said Morris. "Perhaps Dr. Naughton does."

"Or that other man on campus," said Maelstrom.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Aaron grunted when he hit the ground again. Kevin landed several feet away. The Rangers were strewn about while Bellatrix stood above them. The mood had darkened. The crowd of students watching murmured, wondering what was going to happen next. The Rangers were at Bellatrix's mercy now, and possibly the whole campus.

And yet Bellatrix was not gloating. Perhaps it was her surprise at the amount of power she held. That was the best reason. She looked down at her gloved hands—half a transmutation circle on each of them—wondering just what happened.

Now she began to smirk.

"I need to do something," Hitomi said while she was still being hid by Rob.

"You sure about that?" Rob replied. "You still have to—hey, wait!" Hitomi didn't listen, instead getting up and rushing Bellatrix.

"For someone with confidence issues, you sure are persistent," Bellatrix said, grabbing a short sword. Hitomi reconfigured her Octane Blaster and attacked Bellatrix. Their blades clashed for a couple seconds before Bellatrix punched her in the face. She tried to get back up, but Bellatrix kicked her face.

"PINK!" Maria called out. It was useless, though. Bellatrix was going to town on Hitomi. Her body flew about and she landed on a big boulder in the field. That was when Bellatrix grabbed her and pulled her off the boulder, throwing her to the turf.

Hitomi coughed and tried to get up, but she felt someone grab her hair. "STAY DOWN!" Bellatrix shouted, shoving her to the dirt. "Pathetic," she said. "You should have gone for the kill, instead you let me get the upper hand."

"LET HER GO!" Rob shouted, pulling out his pistol. The other officers did the same. Bellatrix pulled her up to her knees.

"Forget them," said Bellatrix. "I think I've figured out your role. You're just the load, aren't you? You're the weakest fighter in the team, the one who does the least. You're the one who gets beaten by the enemy first while your friends finish him off."

"SHUT UP, BITCH!" Sean shouted, getting up. But then he groaned and fell. He felt blood trickling down his arm and leg, no doubt from re-opened wounds.

"He won't be joining us," said Bellatrix. "I saw when you were fighting earlier. You relied on your brother to help you and although I commend you for telling him off, you've failed to prove that you're worthy of your title.

"You're nothing! All you do is rely on the others for help, and when you're truly faced with a deadly situation, you freeze. You're a miserable failure of a superhero! How can you be independent if you're mentally shackled to others, even your so-called best friend?

"Just give up and go home. Why do you stay? Is it because you're afraid to leave, afraid to fail? I suppose that's the reason. You have nowhere else to go. Even your own family is ashamed of you. Why would they keep a daughter who fails so miserably at her exploits?"

"Sean," Hitomi could only say.

Bellatrix smiled again. "I see now. You're in love with the Red Ranger. And I can tell he has no interest in you whatsoever. What person, man or woman would want a clingy load like you? You're pathetic, Pink Ranger!" She shook Hitomi about. "And I thought Shinji Ikari was pathetic and—what are you doing?" Hitomi had grabbed Bellatrix's short sword and before Bellatrix could react, she took the sword and cut off the hair Bellatrix was holding.

"Be quiet," she said. "I won't let you deconstruct me." She turned around and now her eyes showed a fire in them. "I will defeat you." She rushed forward, thrusting her blade at Bellatrix, catching the evil alchemist off guard.

"_VE, HITOMI!_" Maria cheered. Hitomi pressed against Bellatrix. The alchemist clapped her hands and tried to get a hold of Hitomi, but she only evaded Bellatrix and then roundhouse kicked the woman in the gut. Cue cheering from the crowd.

"I can't stay," Bellatrix groaned. When Hitomi tried to leave, Bellatrix disappeared in her alchemic teleportation. Hitomi watched for a second before she felt someone jump on top of her.

"You did it, _chica!_" Maria cheered. She blushed for a moment before smiling and enjoying the feelings of accomplishment.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"There must be some reason for that power surge," said Drake. Neville turned the pages in one of their books quickly, looking for whatever an answer. "Are you able to read faster?"

"Patience, Drake!" said Neville. "There is no simple answer to this question."

"I want a simple answer," said Bellatrix.

"There may not be one," said Neville. Bellatrix groaned and sat on Drake's desk. "Perfect."

"Calm down, Bellatrix," said Drake. He sat down in his chair and looked at a few books himself.

"Easy for you to say," said Bellatrix. "I just got defeated—"

"No talking while I am working!" Neville interrupted. Bellatrix sighed in annoyance.

"For a genius, he sure is—"

"EUREKA!" His shout startled the pair.

"Have you found something?" asked Drake.

"You both know our alchemy is powered by energy released from the collision of tectonic plates," Neville said.

"Of course," said Drake, "But we do not have the energy to power our—"

"We have found the power," said Neville. "There is an energy field surrounding and binding the world, created by all living things. The Rangers are connected to it, and judging by how much energy Bellatrix obtained from it, we may have found our secret."

Evil smiles spread across Drake and Bellatrix's faces. "So the Rangers have something we need…"

"Are we still going to kill them?" asked Bellatrix.

"Of course," said Drake. "But even if we fail, we have a use for them."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

After the events of the day, Sean and Maria were having dinner at Trueblood Hall near the Brush Towers. They were just finishing up though, a nice dinner. Sean was confused as to why Maria had asked if she could have dinner with him; alone. She didn't really say why, so Sean just went with it. But his curiosity got the best of him when they left. "So what was Hitomi's problem?"

"Her confidence issues," said Maria. "She might be done with them, but I'm not sure."

"She didn't seem scared today," said Sean.

"That's different," said Maria. "But there was another thing." She turned and looked at him. "She's in love with you."

Sean was surprised, jerking his head back. "Really? Well, too bad for her."

"I should have known," said Maria. "But in case you're asking, that's not why I wanted to talk to you."

"Then what—wait, _you're_—"

"You're actually smart," she said. "Are you—"

"I'm not against it," he said with a blush. "I guess... we could give it a try and see how it goes." The only answer he got was a smile from her.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Hitomi VO: "Next time, on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Maria: Meet the new Hitomi!

Sean: "Hello, Dr. Naughton."

Dr. Naughton: "A few Native American shamans were on to something."

(_Cut to shot of Mannequins attacking Lingle Hall_)

Bridget: "Come on, get moving!" (_Cut to shot of a MANNEQUIN attacking Bridget_)

Sean: "BRIDGE!"

Hitomi: "That's next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

So how was that? The plot's starting to come together, so stay with us! I know part of this seems similar to _Fullmetal Alchemist_, but I'm trying to separate these two plots (I think they're separate enough, but nothing wrong with more differentiation).

And Hitomi's behavior was kind of weird, I know, but I needed to give her some much-needed character development after a couple years both in this and in the original continuity.

Also, somebody asked me (but failed to provide an e-mail address so I can respond) what my picture is. It's a Jospeh Ducruex meme singing the parody lyrics to SIU's fight song (Go, Southern go, that's all the words we know).

Either way, tell me what you think! Leave a review (no brankel1)!


	11. Becoming Personal

Rob VO: "Previously, on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Marty: "You know what's wrong with Hitomi?"

Maria: "I don't know."

Hitomi: "I wish I was as independent as you."

Aaron: "You have two girls after you."

Sean: "And what proof do you have?"

Bellatrix: (_To Rob_) I dare you to draw that weapon.

(_Cut to images of Bellatrix fighting the Rangers. Bellatrix grabs Hitomi's wrist and feels a surge of power and destroys her helmet. Then Hitomi grabs one of Bellatrix's swords and cuts her hair off_)

Sean: (_To Maria_) "I guess we could give this a try."

Power Rangers GPX SIU, episode 11: Becoming Personal

:-:-:-: Pooow-er Ran-gers, Grand Prix, G-P-X-GO! :-:-:-:

Marty sighed when the lip of the beer bottle left _his_ lips. Sean took another sip of his beer while the two sat watching some hockey on this Sunday afternoon. They were at Marty's apartment, waiting for Maria to come back with Hitomi after the Japanese girl's messy and impromptu haircut on Thursday.

They didn't say anything, only watching in intense concentration. They focused only on the puck bouncing around the rink. The team in red tried to keep it away from the team in white and get it to the net. The team in red came so close to scoring, but the white team was playing defense exceptionally well.

The team in red is the Southern Illinois Redhawks, their previous (fictional) junior hockey team and the team in white is the Green Bay Icecaps (also fictional). The Redhawks have the same color scheme as their beloved hometown Chicago Blackhawks.

"Ah, come on! You had a lane, shoot you moron!" Sean shouted. "Can't believe these idiots they have this year. If we saw a shot, we took it!"

"Jagovs," Marty said in agreement. He took another swig of beer and put it on the small, nondescript coffee table. "So when's Maria getting here?"

"She said sometime around 2:30," Sean replied. "I take it you two went to mass today."

"Yeah," said Marty. "Why didn't you?"

"Because I didn't want to," said Sean. "You two are Catholic, I'm atheist, can we get over it?"

"Yeah, sure," said Marty. That conversation was utterly pointless.

"OH, COME ON!" Sean shouted at the TV. "What the fuck are you doing there, sieve!?"

"You made the save, but keep the goddamn top shelf full!" Marty shouted. "And hit that bastard!"

"Will you two _please _calm down?" a familiar woman's voice asked.

"They're playing like crap, of _course _we're gonna—I thought Hitomi was the one getting a haircut."

"I felt like getting one too, Sean," she replied, feeling her short—but still feminine—hair. "You can come in now_, chica_!"

Hitomi nervously walked inside to show off her new look. Not much had changed with her impromptu haircut, but was now more a more cleaned-up bob haircut with straight bangs. "Meet the new Hitomi!"

"She looks pretty good," said Sean. Hitomi blushed, even though she had an idea he didn't mean it the way she hoped.

"I'll bet the guys are gonna be checkin' her out," said Marty.

"Probably," Sean said with a laugh. Maria walked over to him and sat down next to him. Hitomi said down on Marty's futon.

"So… what's going on?" asked Hitomi.

"Redhawks are on the power play," said Sean. "That comes after a penalty to the opposing team, where the player who the penalty was called on sits in the penalty box, usually for two minutes. Because of that, his team has four skaters on the ice while the other has the regular five."

"Um… okay," Hitomi could barely understand what the fuck he was talking about.

"Why isn't Aaron here?" asked Maria.

"He stepped out for a beer run," said Sean. "He lost rock-paper-scissors."

"I have a feeling you're lying," she replied. Sean chuckled.

"He did," said Marty. "Gave him some cash, he should be back with the beer in a couple of minutes."

"Wow, no one would suspect we're trying to stop a group of mad alchemists from absorbing all the souls in the state," said Maria.

"Which is the point," said Sean. "And speaking of which, I'll be meeting with Dr. Naughton tomorrow."

"Why not earlier?" asked Marty.

"Some things came up," said Sean. That includes fights against monsters, Bellatrix and Dr Naughton's office hours which were not very convenient.

"Lousy excuse," said Marty. That earned a punch to his arm. "Dude, watch your strength!"

"I was," said Sean. Marty cursed at him.

Aaron then burst into the apartment, carrying a 12-pack of Bud Light and Budweiser and a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Of course, send the one who actually has money," he said.

"Sorry about that," said Sean.

"Just put the stuff in the kitchen," said Marty. "My roommate is gone for the weekend, too."

"Although, it's not so bad," said Aaron. "I don't have to watch your terrible sport." He got a pair of death glares from Sean and Marty. "What? You know I've never liked it?"

"Sean, calm down," said Maria. Sean did so, sinking back into the couch. Marty and Aaron looked at each other. This was certainly not what they were expecting out of the two. Usually, he'd get defensive. Marty could only shrug before turning his attention back to his old team.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

He scoffed. This wasn't a challenge. A small number of police in this town and they couldn't stand up to him. Now all that was left was to take care of his target, who was right in front of him. "And you think you're better?" his target asked.

"Ask the police," he replied. "Honestly, I thought American police were better than this."

"You and your alchemist friends don't have much time," said his target. "I take it you've heard of them?"

"Of course," he replied. "That is why I am on my way there now; along with a few side-trips; like you." His target was defiant, refusing to go down without a fight. It was all the more satisfying when he silenced him.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Drake was thinking.

Bellatrix had discovered something about the Power Rangers. Whatever they used to power their suits and morphers, it seemed to enhance the ability of Society members' alchemy. Given Carbondale's proximity to the New Madrid Fault system, the tectonic energy that powers their alchemy was already strong.

This is different.

Right now he had no way of knowing what that was. Was it a connection to the tectonic energy? No, it couldn't have been. Neville would need to find the source of that energy. They did not have agents within SWORD. They had no access to whatever powered the Rangers'… powers.

But that power had potential. If they could tap into it…

The Reckoning Day may still be on as planned.

He stood up, walking over to the window. It was raining. That might sound prophetic, but it wasn't. It was a simple observation. Of course, he could not predict the weather for the Reckoning Day. If the sky was cloudy or imperfect… it would fail. So many factors went into—

"Drake?"

He was startled and turned around to see Cedric standing in the door of his office. "You scared me, Cedric," he said.

"My apologies," said Cedric. "Neville has created another monster."

"I am already tiring of them," said Drake.

"And we also heard of the police force of an entire town in Illinois that was decimated." Could it be?

"What monster has Neville created?" asked Drake.

"A deer," said Cedric. Drake scoffed.

"I am still unsure why he prefers to use animals native to this area," he said. "How many of those stuffed animals are there?"

"I am not sure," said Cedric. "Shall I—"

"No," said Drake. "Keep the monster here until tomorrow. We will unleash it then."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Sean stepped out of his Anthropology class in Faner Hall. He'd just been assigned _another _major paper, which is fitting for an anthropology major like him. He checked his iPhone. It was about time for his appointment with Dr. Naughton. He shrugged and walked over to the anthropology offices where Dr Naughton had his office.

He knocked on his old teacher's office door. "Come in!" he said. Sean walked in. He noticed Dr. Naughton's office was pretty messy with books, mostly about Native American societies and culture (that's his primary focus). Dr. Naughton himself was seated at his desk, distracted by some papers before he looked up. "Oh, hello, Sean. It's nice to see you again." He was a middle-aged man, with straight salt-and-pepper hair. He had a few wrinkles, but he looked pretty good for his age.

"Nice to see you, too," said Sean. He took off his backpack and sat down.

"So what can I do for you?" asked Dr. Naughton.

"I was told you know a few things about Native American magic," said Sean.

"You do realize that's a pretty broad and vague term, right?" asked Dr. Naughton. "You do know what magic really is?" Sean drew a blank. For an Anthro major, he wasn't doing well! "Magic is a means of gaining control of the supernatural. If you're thinking of shamans, I suggest you—" He stopped when he noticed something on Sean's wrist. He grabbed Sean's sleeve and before Sean could resist, he pulled the sleeve up, exposing his morpher.

"So you're a Power Ranger," said Dr. Naughton. Sean was about to leave, but Dr. Naughton got up and closed his office door. There was no way for Sean to escape. Was he—"I guess Maelstrom's pet project succeeded after all."

Sean stared blankly at the doctor. "Say what?"

"You may not know this, but SWORD has a few anthropologists in their staff," said Dr. Naughton. "I used to work for them from 1995 until 2005. I take it you were suggested to me."

"I didn't know you were with SWORD!" said Sean. "What are you doing here?"

"Academia's a much more stable and interesting line of work in comparison," said Dr. Naughton. "Please, sit down. Now then, getting back to magic; it's still a pretty broad and vague term. I hope you know there are multiple Native American religions."

"Of course," said Sean. "You stressed that fact last semester."

"That I did," said Dr. Naughton. "Native American religion is typically animistic. You do know what that mans?"

"Is this a test?" asked Sean, "It's a belief that everything, not just humans and animals, but plants and rocks have spirits. It's typical of pre-Christian religions."

"Correct," said Dr. Naughton. "Getting back to our topic, I'm not sure if this is what you're thinking about fighting the Ouroboros Society with."

"I don't even know either," said Sean.

Dr. Naughton paused for a moment. He seemed to be thinking, about what though, Sean was not sure. He looked down at his desk and then again at his work all around the office. "I've been working on something," he said. "There's another possibility."

"What is that?"

"We use the animism to our advantage," said Dr. Naughton. Sean opened his mouth to speak, but Dr. Naughton said, "I found the writings of one Longhouse religion—basically Christianity recast with Seneca beliefs—cleric who mentioned how all things are connected. Now, this was just the ranting of a mad man, for the most part, but one account of a Lakota medicine man intrigued me.

"He said he used the powers of the earth to heal his tribes-people and grant them powers. Of course, I always take what Carl Sagan said about extraordinary claims to heart. However, that particular tribe was known for being very tough to beat by the US Cavalry. I believe he tapped into the bio-field that powers your morphers.

"Then he mentioned a moment where someone—I assume an alchemist—managed to gain control of these powers and took away the tribe's powers. Again, this could be a fabrication. But the medicine man managed to find a way to reverse that ability."

"So… you're saying that the Ouroboros Society can take away our powers?" said Sean.

"But there is a way to counter-act that power," said Dr. Naughton. "I know a few people, mostly other academics, but a few people I met while doing my ethnographies. They've managed to use a form of alchemy based off this medicine man's words. It uses the bio field for its power. I've been told the alchemy the Ouroboros Society uses is powered by tectonic energy, is that correct?"

"That's what they said," said Sean.

"Alright, I'll talk to these guys. I can't guarantee anything, but we'll see what can be done, alright?"

"Alright," said Sean. "You really think that medicine man was on to something?"

"I seriously doubt it," said Dr. Naughton. "There's no real proof, and of course, extraordinary claims. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse thought he was crazy. However, when he saw the medicine man's warriors in battle, Sitting Bull did mention they fought like they had these powers."

"_Bueno_," said Sean. He got up and slung his backpack over his shoulder again.

"By the way, how's Maelstrom doing?" asked Dr. Naughton.

"I haven't seen him face-to-face in months," said Sean. Dr. Naughton laughed.

"One more thing, I don't like the depictions of Native Americans as 'mystical'," he said. "It just furthers more stereotypes. That being said, there are magical beliefs across the world."

"Sure," said Sean. He walked out of Dr. Naughton's office, armed with a new chance at beating the Ouroboros Society.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Neville's deer monster, called Antler, advanced on Lingle Hall. SIU's main athletic hall was attached to the newly-renovated SIU Arena on the south end of campus. He was flanked by a platoon (soon to be more) of Mannequins, both armored and un-armored. The Mannequins looked ready to attack… and that's a bad thing. A pair of armored Mannequins walked up to the doors to the Trout-Whittman Center, also attached to Lingle Hall.

"Get them," said Antler.

Bridget walked into SIU football head coach Dale Lennon's office. She held a few envelopes in her hand and then handed them to the coach's secretary. "Just got these," she said.

"Thank you Bridget," said the female secretary. "By the way, are you going to Arch Madness?"

"I'll try," she replied. "I think I'll try to—what's that sound?"

It sounded like wind—a bad wind. It was almost like someone was… screaming. "That doesn't sound good," said Bridget.

Suddenly, someone burst into the office. "MANNEQUINS!"

Panic ensued. The employees started to run around, looking out the window. The horde of Mannequins had surrounded the hall. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" someone shouted. Panic gripped everyone and they tried to rush for the exits.

"Everyone SHUT UP!" Bridget shouted. They stopped, but only for a second. Bridget then rushed to the front and said, "LISTEN UP! We're going to get out of here. But you have to do as I say!"

Meanwhile, Sean was just leaving Faner Hall when he got the text message about the attack. "Lingle Hall?" he said. "Why would they—oh, no!" He immediately broke into a run.

The Arena, Lingle Hall and the Trout-Whittman Center were under siege. The Mannequins had blocked the exits. Several armored Mannequins had already gotten in, smashing the Trout-Whittman Center's glass façade. A couple of SIU cops were holding them off with their gunfire. They shot with precision. They could not waste a shot, or they'd run out easily.

Meanwhile, Bridget had opened a window on the west side of the single-hallway hall. She helped several people out the window. At the same time, other employees were barricading the doors and trying to keep the Mannequins out of the arena. Several football and basketball players who were in the building were also helping keeping the Mannequins at bay.

"Come on, get moving!" said Bridget. She took the hand of a football player and helped him out the window. "There you go!" she said.

"What's going on out there?" asked another employee. Bridget looked out the window.

"It's the Red Ranger!" she said.

Indeed, Sean had arrived and he was _pissed_. He tore into the Mannequins, his blade cutting them up. He ran over to the window where Bridget was and shouted, "Need any help?"

"Yeah, just make sure they're able to get to safety!" she called back. Sean gave the thumbs-up sign and went back to killing Mannequins. Bridget kept helping people getting out of the building.

_That's my sister_, Sean thought with a smile.

"We're running out of ammo!" One of the officers shouted. That was bad. More murmurs started to sweep through the employees.

"Everyone stay calm!" she said. "We're going to get out of here, don't worry! Someone help the police barricade the stairs!" Several others grabbed some tables and dragged them to the staircase. The cops were already falling back. They switched their tactics to covering fire.

However, due to the size of the entrance, there was no hope of barricading it. The cops and the other employees ran back into the office. "This is bad!" said one employee.

"Then just barricade the door!" Bridget shouted. She ran over to window to see the Red Ranger still fighting. "HEY! When are your friends getting here? We had to barricade ourselves!"

"They should be here soon!" said Sean. He reacted to a Mannequin by kicking it in the face.

The cops and the employees barricaded the door. Now they were truly trapped… from one direction. They could still get out.

Meanwhile, Maria and Hitomi had arrived from Thompson Point. They went right to work, taking out as many of the Mannequins as possible. Maria had her daggers out, cutting the zombie-like Mannequins up and then joined up with Sean. "What took you?" he asked.

"We were busy," she said before she and Sean went to fighting the Mannequins in tandem. Marty was next, smashing several Mannequins with his hammer. He spun around, bashing their skulls and ribs in. He stopped when someone had to pass by and he helped them got out of the way. Then he looked over and Sean and Maria fighting like a couple.

"Lucky bastard," he said to himself.

"HEY!" Bridget called again. "We need some help up here!"

"No! Keep bringing people down!" said Sean. "We'll hold off the Mannequins!"

"We have a lot of people in here!" Bridget called back. "And I'm not sure if the door will hold up!"

"Yellow, where the hell are Green, Silver and Blue?" Sean asked.

"I thought you knew where they were!" she replied. Sean growled and got on his communicator.

"Blue, Green, Silver, get to Lingle Hall immediately!" he said. He heard some crackling electricity and noticed more Mannequins emerging from the ground. "AND I MEAN NOW! Oh, and by the way, Silver, Lingle Hall. I think you know what this means."

"He's going to kill them, isn't he?" said Maria.

"Oh, killing would be putting it lightly," said Sean. He went back to killing Mannequins.

He noticed Hitomi fighting over near the wall. She didn't seem to be taking any shit from the Mannequins. She stabbed and thrust the blade of her _naginata _at the Mannequins. Twirling around, she took out a few more that had sprouted from the ground. She then ran up the wall, back-flipped and cut some of the Mannequins down.

Marty, while watching this, was impressed. "Damn," he said.

"Why, do you like her?" Sean joked.

"Not that way," said Marty.

"Whatever," Sean said after decapitating a Mannequin. Marty checked to notice that Hitomi had done the same. He quickly found himself attacked by more Mannequins. He immediately whacked one on the head.

"How many more are there?" asked Marty.

"HEY! How many more you got left?" Sean called out.

"Some student-athletes were training!" said Bridget. "I think we've got about 15 more people!"

"Fifteen!?" said Maria.

"Athletic departments are big," said Sean. "And it looks like some reinforcements are coming!"

Right on cue, flashes of blue, green and silver arrived on the scene. Green and blue joined the fight with the Mannequins, while Silver looked homicidal. He tried to go after the Mannequins in Lingle, but Sean whistled at him.

"HEY! We're helping them evacuate!" he shouted.

"Then what am I supposed to do!?" Rob asked.

"Be homicidal while helping the evacuees!" Sean replied. Rob groaned and ran back to the main battle site. He started tearing through the Mannequins, cutting them in half and stomping on what remained. He punched, kicked and bashed all around. Anger is a dangerous weapon. It can blind one to the harm they are causing. Watching the scene unfold you'd be forgiven if you thought Rob was on a berserker rampage

But in this case, it's not just anger, it's fear and protectiveness. Rob did not want his wife to get hurt in any way shape for form. Luckily for him (and everyone else) Bridge was still okay.

Aaron grabbed a Mannequin that had latched itself onto an employee and dragged it off. He showed no mercy. The Mannequin's head struck another Mannequin, knocking it over. "Are you alright?" he asked. The employee nodded but needed some extra encouragement by Aaron to leave. A Mannequin tried to attack, but Aaron was there, stopping it and allowing the employee to escape.

"Sorry about the mess, Coach Lennon," Bridget said to Saluki football head coach Dale Lennon.

"It's alright," he said, giving her confident smile. It was infectious and she helped him down the Lingle Hall wall. "Looks like you're doing a good job here," he said to Sean.

"Thanks coach," said Sean. He pointed the coach in a safe direction. Then another person, a student-athlete (presumably a basketball player) climbed down as well. "What about the people in the arena?" Sean called to Bridget.

"I'll help them," said Kevin. He ran over to the Arena gates and started shooting the Mannequins that had begun to try and get in.

"He's gonna be a while," said Sean, assuming Kevin needed to go around both sides of the Arena. "Is that all?"

"Just about!" said Bridget.

"Silver! Now you can go in and clean them up!" said Sean. Rob nodded and took off towards the entrance. "Yellow! Gold! Pink! Green! Form up!" he called. All four of them gathered around him and faced the Mannequins. "Let's finish these bastards!"

Rob got inside, finally noticing Antler and several Mannequins trying to break down the door. He started shooting, trying to be precise. It killed several Mannequins and caught Antler's attention. "Get him!" said Antler.

"HEY! I've gone deer-hunting!" said Rob. "Why don't you come and get revenge for that 10-point buck I have on my wall!?"

"I'll get you for that!" Antler shouted. He'd taken the bait and he and the Mannequins chased Rob outside to face him. Rob made quick work of the Mannequins, knocking them all away before he faced Antler.

"Come on, come on!" Rob said. He gave him a "bring it on" gesture. Antler wound up and charged like an angry buck.

Maria grabbed the head of a Mannequin and began to twist it. Try as she might, the Mannequin's neck didn't snap. It frustrated her enough that she just stabbed it in the back and then slit its throat. She gave Sean a look before ducking under a Mannequin and lifting it up, tossing it to Hitomi. She in turn, thrust her _naginata _at the Mannequin, skewering it like a shish kebob.

"Mannequin on a stick!" said Sean. He ran over to the window again. "HEY! Is that the last one?"

"Yeah!" Bridget replied. She gingerly stepped out of the window and dropped to the ground. Sean caught her easily. "You sound familiar," she said. Sean shrugged and let her go.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Antler shouted. "GET HER!" That earned a punch from Rob.

"That's my wife, you bastard!"

The Mannequins started to swarm Bridget. She started to run, but found herself surrounded. However, the Rangers did their job, opening a path for her, easily taking out the Mannequins with the sword, knife, axe, _naginata _and hammer. "GO! NOW!" Sean shouted.

Bridget hesitated. The Red Ranger's voice sounded familiar. While she should have been running, she felt like it was so—_CRUNCH!_

Underneath his helmet, Sean's face was filled with horror. Cold sweat ran down his face. His eyes bulged as large as dinner plates. A scream should have come out, but it got hitched in his throat. The other Rangers also looked on in shock.

Rob screamed even louder as soon as he saw what happened.

A Mannequin was biting Bridget's neck and several more looked ready to devour her.

"_BRIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDGGGGE!_" Sean finally let out a horrified and truly agonized cry. His feet did his work for him. Filled with rage, he charged the Mannequins, stabbing and chopping them to bits, and then removed the Mannequin that had bit his sister, thrusting his sword into its mouth. He slowly let her down on the ground, trying to keep the wound closed. "Where's an ambulance? WHERE'S THE FUCKING AMBULANCE!?"

"Sean?" she said.

"Look, miss, just hang on! PLEASE HANG ON!" he pleaded with her in pure agony.

Rob was frozen for a moment before he was also filled with rage. He let out a mighty roar and let loose on Antler, slashing his sword at him and nearly chopping in him up. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

That also earned the wrath of the other Rangers. They tore the Mannequins to shreds, leaving no "survivors".

When Kevin got back, he noticed the carnage. At first he was horrified, but when he saw Bridget barely hanging on, he too went for the kill.

Sean didn't leave his sister's side until paramedics finally arrived. It was then he let his rage go. With an agonized roar, he charged Antler. While the other Rangers were angrily letting loose on Antler, he supercharged his sword and began to rush the deer monster. "GT _STRIIIIIIKE!_"

He swung his sword, causing sparks to fly from Antler. He stopped while the others also let loose their supercharged attacks. They did not pose when Antler went up in flames.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"Is momma gonna be okay?" A teary-eyed Allie said, trying to keep it in at the hospital.

"Well, she lost a lot of blood," said the doctor, "But the operation seems to have been a success, but we can't guarantee anything."

No one said anything. The only sound was Allie's agonized wailing. Sean hugged his niece closer to him, trying to console her. Maria leaned in and whispered some soothing words in the toddler's ear. There was a gauze patch on her arm that came from when she volunteered to donate blood since she and Bridget share the same blood type. The others were also mournful. Aaron just looked down at the floor, Kevin and Marty looked about ready to explode and Hitomi was also crying.

"We'll have to keep watch over her in the ICU," said the doctor. Sean nodded and handed Allie over to her father. He got up and started to walk out.

"Where are you going?" asked Rob.

"I need to scream," said Sean.

Once outside, Sean let out a painful, agonized roar that would have woken anyone up, but it's only about 8:00 at night. Tears ran down his cheek as he felt an incredible pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. _I couldn't save her_, he thought to himself. _What kind of Ranger am I if I can't save my sister? _"I'm gonna make those bastards PAY!"

"My sincerest apologies," he heard.

His head rose in anger when he saw Drake. Immediately he walked over to the light he was standing under, "I am truly sorry for—" _PUNCH!_ Drake fell to the ground, holding his left cheek before he felt himself being forcefully pulled up by the collar.

"YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted in Drake's face. "TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T KILL YOU RIGHT HERE AND NOW!?"

"BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT OUR PLANS ARE!" Drake shouted back. Sean dropped Drake to the ground. "I am truly sorry. I did not intend for this to happen. Neville is being punished—"

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Sean shouted back. "IF SHE DIES, IT'S ON YOU!"

"It was not my decision," said Drake. "I never try to make our battles personal. Doing so is cowardly and only assures our enemies will be filled with rage."

"Oh, you're right about that!" said Sean.

"But tell me," said Drake, "Are you sure you want to continue this conflict?"

"What do you mean?" Sean growled. Drake stood up and smiled evilly at him. He began to circle him like a vulture.

"I know your beliefs," said Drake. "You hate racism, decry homophobia, believe that something should be done regarding climate change, think the government is full of incompetent morons and think Republicans are fools. You really are a liberal, aren't you?"

"What are you getting at?" said Sean.

"Our purpose is to make this world better," said Drake. "When we succeed, we will be able to make things right." Sean calmed down, listening to Drake's words. "No more poverty, no bigotry, no more abuse of our planet, and no more killing. We will be at peace."

Sean didn't reply.

Drake laughed. He had him now. "You don't have to follow SWORD," he whispered in his ear. "Why should you be a hero when you know you'll fail in one way or another? You can join us. You can help make this world a better place under our guidance."

Sean scoffed. He figured out what Drake wanted to do. "Go fuck yourself," he said.

"What?"

"You want to rule the world," said Sean. "You're just another _Power Rangers_ villain. Plus, my sister is dying right now. Why should I join forces with you?"

"You can end our conflict," said Drake. "You have been escalating—"

"_You're _the ones who attacked us first," said Sean, "You started this. We're going to end it."

"You will lose," said Drake. "Please reconsider."

"I don't have to," Sean replied. "I said it before and I'll say it again. We're Power Rangers. We don't quit, we don't surrender, and most important of all, we don't fucking lose."

Drake scoffed. "I should have known I would not have convinced you," said Drake. "Very well, then. I look forward to our continuing battles, Red Ranger!" With that, he disappeared.

Sean went back into the hospital and sat next to Maria. She laid her head on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He looked at the others. They all had the same determined look on their face. Sean smiled. As long as he had them, things would turn out okay.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Aaron VO: "Next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU!_"

Drake: "I was wondering when you'd come."

Sean: "I need to know how my sister's doing."

Aaron: "I'd rather not be in your shadow."

Sean: (_Confused_) "Excuse me?"

(_Cut to shots of the Rangers in battle. They are all getting beat by someone_.)

Kevin: "Who is he?"

Aaron: "Someone has to take a stand!"

Aaron VO: "That's next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

End chapter

Oh, dear. Yeah, things aren't looking good for Bridge. I have to say, this was a dark episode, or at least an attempt.

As for the whole Native American alchemy, I kind of made it up, but I want to be accurate to Native American belief systems and shamanism. I will not subscribe to the uber-romantic New Age view of the "Magical Native American" (as TV Tropes puts it) because despite its good intentions, it gives Native Americans an "otherness" quality. They become a stereotype rather than a human being. Native Americans are humans, people. Go and talk to one!

Oh, and give me a review!


	12. The Bloodletter

Marty VO: "Previously on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Sean: (_To Hitomi_) "She looks pretty good."

Sean: "I was told you know a few things about Native American magic."

Dr. Naughton: "So you're a Power Ranger. I guess Maelstrom's pet project succeeded after all."

Bridget: "LISTEN UP! We're going to get out of here. But you have to do as I say!"

(_Cut to shots of the Rangers fighting the Mannequins and helping bystanders escape. Bridget tries to get away, but a Mannequin bites the base of her neck_)

Sean: "PLEASE HANG ON!"

Drake: "You can help make this world a better place under our guidance."

Sean: "Go fuck yourself."

Power Rangers GPX SIU, episode 12: The Bloodletter

:-:-:-: Pooow-er Ran-gers, Grand Prix, G-P-X, GO! :-:-:-:

He figured security would be tight here. The Ouroboros Society's conflict with the Rangers had made them cautious about the potential of enemy attack. He heard they'd already dealt with someone who infiltrated the society. Apparently their enemy had excellent resources to deal with them. And yet, he heard they were still one step ahead of their enemy. The Society is better than he thought.

The acolytes and members looked shocked at his presence. He always liked that. He did not look threatening, but his reputation always preceded him. Either they knew he was coming or this was the first time they'd seen him. He could hear them talking amongst themselves. Now when did he do that? A smile on his face meant he enjoyed hearing their rumors.

"Where is Drake?" he asked a guard he walked up to. The guard pointed down the hall. He nodded, walking away. He swore he heard the guard drop to the floor and blessing himself.

He found where Drake was. This should be good. A pair of knocks and, "Come in!" He opened the door and smiled at the look on Drake's face. "I was unaware you were coming," he said.

"I wanted to drop in," he said.

"Did you scare the acolytes?" asked Drake. "Given your reputation, Sirius the Bloodletter, I would have to say yes."

"My sincerest apologies," said Sirius. He brushed back his long black hair and sat down on the chair in front of Drake's desk. He looked at Drake witch his green eyes.

"To be honest, I was wondering when you would come, I just did not expect you to come unannounced," said Drake. "What is it that you want, Sirius?"

"I understand you're having trouble with a children's TV show," said Sirius. He smiled when he head Drake subtly pound the desk.

"What are you saying?" asked Drake, "We are having no problems at all. Our plan is falling into place one piece at a time. They will not stop us."

"And yet, you keep losing to them!" Sirius said with a laugh. "And you could have killed the Red Ranger's sister."

"Neville ordered that, not me," said Drake. "I had him punished for his transgressions. Because of that, our battle with the Rangers is personal and they will not surrender without a fight."

"And yet, you could have ended this conflict a long time ago," said Sirius.

"The situation has changed," said Drake. "The Rangers hold a power that may be what we need for the Reckoning Day. Our top researchers are working on it right now."

"Oh, so you've thought ahead, haven't you?" asked Sirius. "Do you need them alive or dead?"

"It does not matter," said Drake. "We need their powers. If they die, so be it. If they live, we will only lure them to their fate."

"I like this already," said Sirius. "Why don't I help you out?"

Drake raised an eyebrow. "You believe you can defeat the Rangers," he said.

"Of course!" said Sirius. "They're just kids wearing silly colored spandex! What are they going to do? Dazzle me?"

"Do not underestimate them," said Drake. "They are very persistent. They will not be defeated easily."

Sirius laughed, causing Drake to give him a bad look. "I'll change that."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Aaron was following Sean, wondering why they'd just left campus. Sean was walking with urgency, going down Mill Street. Neither of them said anything. Sean didn't look like he was in the mood to talk, anyway. There were times when Aaron tried to keep up with Sean, only for him to fall behind. A couple times he tried to open his mouth but the awkwardness of the situation forced him to keep it shut.

He knew Sean was still worried about his sister. For all he knew, she was dying.

"Slow down!" he called out. Sean ignored him. "I said slow down!" Sean only glanced behind him. Aaron was getting frustrated. "She'll still be there! Why are you so angry?"

It was a bad thing to say. Sean stopped and turned around. His eyes were wide, but filled with anger. Aaron stopped, shrinking under Sean's enraged stare. "I'm sorry," he said. Sean didn't say anything. He turned around and started walking again.

Ever since Bridget was bitten by a Mannequin, the Rangers had fallen on hard times. Perhaps none of them were more impacted by this like Sean and Rob. And both of them had good reasons to do so. Sean is her brother and Rob is her husband. Two of the most important men in her life except her father were Power Rangers. For Sean, it meant even more. He'd been talking about how he'd failed to save her and the guilt caused him to nearly binge on beer before he realized what he'd done.

Aaron's suspicions were confirmed when he saw the hospital starting to come into view. To their knowledge, she hadn't been moved so there was a good chance she was still there. Again, Sean sped up his walk while Aaron tried to keep up as much as he could. "Hurry the hell up, Zulu!" he said. That's a nickname he hadn't heard in a while!

Aaron decided to tune out for a while until they got to the hospital. He just followed Sean into the building. "I need to know how my sister's doing," he heard him say. He didn't hear anything else, just Sean and the receptionist talking. The receptionist directed him to Bridget's ICU room.

She looked like she was doing well, considering her situation. She was still in bed, hooked up to several machines. She was also patched up on the base of her neck, which looked like it might have been a deep bite. The droning '_beep… beep… beep… beep… beep_' was the only sound in the room, save for Sean's footsteps. Aaron noted this was the most scared he'd ever seen the Red Ranger.

At this point, Aaron is only watching and perspective will shift back to Sean (if just for the moment). "Bridge?" he asked.

She looked at him and smiled widely. "Hi," she said weakly. Sean pulled up a chair and said down. "I'll be fine. How's everyone doing?"

"They're doing okay," said Sean. His voice was flat but he sounded like he was about to break.

"I'll be out of here soon," she said. "Tell mom, dad and Julie I'll be okay."

"How do you know?" asked Sean.

"The doctor," she said. "I just need to rest and they've got me on antibiotics. And they've been saying a few things about that thing that bit me."

"Sounds great," said Sean. He started to get up. "I should be going."

However, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him in. Aaron tried to listen but the thing she whispered in his ear with too quiet for him. "I know that was you yesterday," she said. Sean's eyes were wide as dinner plates. He didn't say anything. "Don't think I can't recognize your voice, especially when you're screaming my name."

"Bridge, that wasn't—"

"Thank you," she said. "Thanks for everything."

Whatever resistance Sean had it broke. At first the tears started slowly, but became so much he let loose and gave his sister a tight hug, chanting about how sorry how was over and over again. Bridget hugged him back, a smile on her face and telling him things were okay. In a way, he was the timid little boy he was when he was a kid…

This would make good blackmail material… if Aaron was a heartless prick.

When Sean calmed down he took a look at Bridget, who still had a comforting smile on her face. "When did you know?"

"Recently," she said. "I was confused from the beginning, but hearing your voice made me realize it."

"Are you going to tell anyone?" he asked.

"Of course not," she replied. Sean and Aaron both sighed in relief. "Who else?"

"Him," Sean pointed to Aaron, "Kevin, Maria, Hitomi, Rob and Marty."

"Oh, wow," she said, her voice full of wonder. Now it was her turn to be surprised. "I'm not sure which to be more surprised about."

"Look, we're just trying to save the city," he said, "And the world."

"Oh," she said. "Are you—"

"We have no intention of losing and/or dying," said Sean.

"Typical you," she said. "And I heard Maria donated some blood for me?"

"She did," said Sean.

"She'll make a good sister-in-law."

"Excuse me?"

"I said I want to thank her," said Bridget. Sean shrugged. "You should be going. I'll be out of here soon."

"Okay," he said. He got up and gave her one last hug. "We're going to beat them. I promise."

"Okay," she said. He got up and left.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"… And I just wanted to tell him, 'I'd rather not be in your shadow."

"And yet you had the good grace not to say it out loud," Kevin said, taking a sip from his coffee. The two were sitting at the Starbuck's in the Student Center after Aaron had accompanied Sean to the hospital. Aaron was staring at his coffee, deep in thought. The thoughts of failure had been pushed to the forefront. "Where did you get this idea?" asked Kevin.

"I had a dream," said Aaron, "I saved a whole school, but they gave the credit to Sean."

"When was this?" asked Kevin.

"Before his sister got bitten," said Aaron.

"And you've been feeling this for how long?" asked Kevin.

"Since after I arrived," said Aaron.

"Well, the last time we had someone have an inferiority complex, he nearly got all of us killed," said Kevin. Aaron glanced up at him and then looked up again. Kevin was dead serious.

Aaron had heard about Daisuke Miyazawa. He was the son of a wealthy Japanese family who was one of the main bankrollers of Project Ranger. Because he'd been promised he would be Red Ranger, he was angry when Sean ended up as Red Ranger and the two butt heads quite often, eventually resulting in Daisuke, in anger, breaking from the team. In a resulting battle, Sean, Kevin and Maria were nearly killed by Seamus.

Of course, they ended up reforming and beat Seamus in a truly epic battle you could set a DragonForce song to.

… After which Daisuke left the team and the university, eventually enrolling at Northwestern.

"But I'm not—"

"Of course not," said Kevin. "I'm just telling you that you should be more careful with those thoughts."

"Well what about you?" asked Aaron.

"Well, I was forced to watch the show, so I know Blue Rangers are typically second-in-command," said Kevin. "I settled into the role. And of course, I have my own mission to do."

"Oh, I forgot about that, what's going on?" asked Aaron.

"I've been talking to Dr. Nelson," said Kevin. "But he did remove the map that had the circle around the state."

"Why did he have that?" asked Aaron.

"I wish I asked," said Kevin, "But if I did, I might not get anything more out of him. Getting back to the point, I've been learning more about alchemy. It's chemistry with occult and mystical elements."

"That we already knew," said Aaron. Kevin sighed. It was pretty much accepted among the Rangers that alchemy—as it once was—was an excuse to make money tricking gullible medieval and Renaissance suckers. Ouroboros alchemy… was essentially magic disguising itself as science. And no, Clarke's Third Law did not apply. Of course, Dr. Nelson knew otherwise.

"I suspect, but I have no proof, that Dr. Nelson does alchemy," said Kevin. "I'm going to stay subtle about it."

"Sounds good," said Aaron. Neither of them said anything for the next few seconds. Kevin took a sip of his coffee while Aaron continued to stare at his. "Should I tell Sean…" Kevin had slowly thrown his head backwards in exasperation. "I shouldn't, right?"

"At least have the bloody good grace to wait until the psychological and emotional trauma of seeing his sister being bitten in the neck and coming close to death has healed!" Kevin replied.

At that time, they noticed Hitomi walking past the window, talking to some dude who looked like he was from India. They were both laughing and smiling. Apparently Hitomi seemed to like this guy. They watched as they left their field of vision. "I see she's recovered," said Kevin.

"Are you going to talk to anymore TAs?" asked Aaron. The previous topic was too much.

"Of course," said Kevin. "And if you mention him one more time, we're done. If you want to complain about him, talk to Miyazawa."

"Actually, I saw a story on the news," said Aaron. "An entire town in this state was slaughtered." Kevin looked up, his eyes filled with subtle shock.

"Where did you hear about this?"

"At the hospital," said Aaron. Kevin stayed still. Aaron did not want to see that look on his face or the uncomfortable silence that had enveloped them. They were the only ones in the Starbuck's not talking. But it's not like anyone's going to notice.

"This is not good," he finally said.

Kevin had no idea how right he was.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

The first time Sirius rolls into town, no one notices. He simply comes into town. If he has no target, he'll leave everyone alone. If he does… you'll be lucky he doesn't come after you. And you'll be even luckier if he makes the death quick and painless. Even if he didn't slaughter entire towns he still did not let his queries escape. Of course, if he entered a large city, he'd only kill his target. Killing 3 million people is A, impossible and B, a good way to draw attention.

However today, he did want to draw some attention. Right now, dressed in a leather jacket, he did fit in… kind of. Some of the country bumpkins were looking at him. He could tell who the college students and transplants were because they didn't so much as bat an eye at him.

He wanted to get the Power Rangers' attention. He knew that any bit of non-typical crime would smoke 'em out. But subtlety is not a term he's very familiar with. Okay, he's familiar with it, but it just did not apply to him.

He walked into the University Mall on the east side of town. It wasn't really bustling, but he didn't care. He looked around. Anyone looked like a good target. It wasn't personal, though. He smiled while he looked around. Someone walked up to him. Mall security, from what it looked like. "How you doing?" the man asked. Sirius smiled. Those were the last words he'd say.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Marty was eager to use his police scanner app. Aaron shook his head, wondering what was so important about a police scanner app. Marty replied that it meant they'd get a head start on the bad guys because the cops would know something was wrong well before SWORD. Aaron had to point out that the Rangers have responded to enemy attacks faster than the cops have.

"Dude, why do you have to disagree with everything I say?" Marty asked.

"Because—"

"_We have a 10-31 over at University Mall,_" the police scanner buzzed.

"Oh, it works," said Marty.

"_10-35, 10-33. Suspect is armed and attacking civilians in University Mall. Suspect appears to be using magic_."

Magic?

"That's our cue!" said Marty. He quickly called up Sean and Aaron did the same for the others. "Cops say there's an attack going on at University Mall!" he said.

"_Then let's go!_" Sean shouted on the other end.

"Wait, how are we going to get there?" Marty asked.

"Don't worry," said Aaron, "We have our own 'wheels'."

"Wait, what?" Marty didn't get Aaron to ask because he was up and out before Marty could do anything. By the time they'd morphed, Aaron had called for his "Wheels". A green Indy Car rolled up almost instantly. "Where the fuck did that come from?" he asked.

"Get on," said Aaron.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Marty was relieved his white-knuckle ride was over as soon as they reached University Mall. Hitomi had to pry his fingers off the car and drag him over to the entrance. That was where they noticed the guy coming out of the mall, surrounded by a police barricade. The Rangers didn't give the cops the time of day. They just jumped over them and confronted the man coming out. "I was wondering when you would get here!" he said.

"Who are you?" Sean replied, not taking any crap from him.

The man, dressed in black, with black hair and a sorta-muscular physique held his arms out. "You've never heard of me? I thought you would have by now!"

"I said who are you?" Sean replied.

The man did not look pleased. He liked having his reputation, but the Power Rangers were completely unaware of who he was. "Fair enough," he said. "My name is Sirius. I don't really have a last name, but everyone I've met calls me The Bloodletter. And now, it's time to show you what I mean!"

"BRING IT!" Sean shouted. The Rangers summoned their weapons, ready to take whatever Sirius could throw at them. The police, save for Chief Granger (before he recognized it was important) moved back. It was best not to get in the way.

Sirius drew a sword from his back and crouched down. The Rangers stayed firm, refusing to budge. If he was trying to psych them out, it was not working. They were _not _afraid of him.

… Which made it all the more better for Sirius.

Without warning, he launched himself at the Rangers. He attacked Sean. Sean blocked the attack. The battle was on! The two quickly turned to a high-intensity battle. Sirius aggressively attacked Sean, forcing him back. Sean found himself against a car. Then he jumped out of the way of Sirius's blade. Then he kicked Sirius in the solar plexus and went on the attack.

He thrust and swung the GT Sword at Sirius, keeping the assassin on his heels. Sirius blocked and parried his strikes, but tried to counter. Sean dodged and countered himself, elbowing Sirius in the face.

Sirius stumbled back and did not notice that Kevin had rushed in. He felt a blow to his gut as Kevin grabbed him and tackled him to the ground. He threw Kevin off, but Kevin rolled off and got back up. Sirius threw a punch at Kevin. Kevin blocked it and punched back. He kneed Sirius in the gut. The assassin doubled over. Kevin then elbowed Sirius in the back.

Sirius had _never _fought anyone like this. They were good! He rolled out of the way of Aaron's kick. He got up and grabbed Aaron's axe as he tried to bring it down upon him. He strained while the Green Ranger tried with all his might to get Sirius off-balance.

He didn't have to worry about that.

Marty snuck up on Sirius and kicked him in the back. Sirius gasped and collided with the nearest car. He turned around and noticed Maria. She thrust and swung her short swords at him. He blocked those attacks with his katana. He stabbed at her, but she jumped out of the way. Out of blindness, he rushed her but she ducked, grabbed him and then threw him to the ground in a way that would make an Aikido and Judo master smile.

Sirius groaned as soon as his back hit the pavement. He severely underestimated them. He didn't have much time to think as Hitomi thrust the blade of her Am Staff down on him. He rolled out of the way, got up and grabbed his sword. He rushed forward, swinging away. But Hitomi blocked his attacks, finding time to spin with precision, blocking his attacks.

Then Hitomi pushed him away. Sirius landed on the ground as the Rangers surrounded him. "Come on, 'Bloodletter', is this the best you can do?" Sean taunted. Sirius was not pleased. He assumed the Red Ranger was giving him a mocking smile. In reality, Sean had a serious look on his face.

The other Rangers readied themselves for Sirius's next attack. Sirius drew a paintbrush from his side. "GET 'IM!" Sean shouted. Sirius had bent down, but looked up in time to notice Hitomi knee him right in the face. Now knocked on his back, Hitomi rushed to his side and tried to pry the paintbrush out of his hand.

Naturally, Sirius would have none of it, grabbing it away from her. He drew a transmutation circle on a Chevy while keeping her at bay. The circle crackled and he drew a long bladed staff from the Chevy. Whoever owns that thing is going to be _pissed_. He whacked Hitomi out of the way (but only because she was off-balance). Maria picked her friend up and punched Sirius in the face. Hitomi then hooked his legs out from under him.

This was getting frustrating for Sirius. All those years he quietly terrorized the underground world of alchemy had built up his reputation, just like the Ouroboros Society. He'd never lost a battle. Anyone who challenged him was cut down by his blade. He staggered back to his feet, growling at his enemies. Who were they? They were nothing; ordinary people who were recruited by some group to fight their battles.

And yet, judging by their battle, they were _not _afraid of him. They didn't even _care _who he was!

Perhaps that was it. He'd built up such a reputation amongst a secret culture that the non-alchemists who had never heard of him had no reason to fear him. No one knew why the population of whole towns disappeared without a trace. He never left evidence of his existence.

As for the Rangers, they were not impressed with him so far. Who the hell was this guy? Why was he calling himself "The Bloodletter"? He couldn't stick a pin in his skin, for cryin' out loud! Some of the Rangers were starting to get overconfident. But Sean told them to cut it out. "So, Sirius, are you done yet? Or do you want more?"

Sirius laughed. "I'm just getting started! How about I have some fun with your sis—" He was cut off by the Red Ranger's boot to his face. He then felt himself being dragged over to the curb and his head placed on the curb.

"You want Blue to curb stomp you?" said Sean. "Say it again, and he'll do it! Hell, we'll probably do worse!"

"I thought you were supposed to be the so-called 'good' guys!" Sirius shouted.

"There's no rule that says we have to be nice!" said Sean.

"I just hope you don't cross any other lines," said Sirius. He then felt Sean grab him but the collar.

"Get the hell out of our city," he said.

"No, I just got here," said Sirius. Suddenly, Sean heard crackling. He looked down and noticed Sirius's gloves were crackling.

"What the—"

_KA-BOOM!_

Sean screamed, flying through the air and collided with a minivan that was pushed into several more cars just by the force of the impact. Car alarms were blaring. The other Rangers looked back at Sirius. His glove was crackling with energy. "What happened?" Sean asked in a daze.

"He grabbed your suit," Maria replied as she helped him out of the van wreckage. "Are you okay?" She stroked the side of his helmet and he nodded, giving her a light headbutt before he took her back to the fight.

It had become obvious the tide had turned. The other Rangers were very nervous now and they fell prey to Sirius. The first one to go down was Marty. Sirius noticed he was not a natural fighter and grabbed his suit. The explosion sent Marty flying and also crashing into several cars.

Kevin threw a punch at Sirius. He caught the punch and tried to grab Kevin. However, Kevin had seen what he had to do and grabbed Sirius's hand. He twisted Sirius's arm around. "The best way to disarm someone," said Kevin, "If you ask me." Sirius responded by kicking Kevin's shin. He let got and found Sirius putting his hand in his face. The resulting explosion caused him to notice he'd flown into a jewelry store.

"My alchemy allows me to create an unstable imbalance of energy," said Sirius. "Sure, I like to use regular alchemy, since it's so easy, but causing explosions, that's much more _fun_."

Hitomi had decided to keep her distance. She pulled out her blaster and started shooting. However, Sirius dodged her shots, grabbed her and sent her flying again. He did the same to Sean, Maria and Aaron. "Now then," he said. "Where's your bravado now, Rangers?"

Aaron had not flown very far. He got out of the Mercury Cougar he'd crashed into, stumbling out and trying to stay on his feet. Sirius noticed this and raised his eyebrow. He could see Aaron's face, which was half-covered by a busted helmet. "You're still standing," he said.

"Someone has to take a stand," said Aaron. "Might as well be me."

"GET 'IM, NDEBELE!" Aaron rushed Sirius. He threw a punch that hit his target. He threw a barrage of punches and kicks that kept Sirius off guard. Sirius tried to grab Aaron, but he got out of the way each time. He punched, kicked, blocked, elbowed, kicked, punched, punched at Sirius. He had him on the run!

"What, did you actually think you can win?" Sirius asked. Aaron noticed he had grabbed him.

_KA-BOOM!_

The next thing Aaron knew, his ears were ringing and he was struggling to get up. He could see Sirius's feet in the distance. He blinked several times trying to focus. However, his ears rang so badly and his head felt like it was being pounded.

"Personally, I prefer subtlety," said Sirius. "But, you left me no choice. I really enjoyed our fight, though. But you're not good enough."

"Then what about me?"

They all turned to see some Asian guy standing in the parking lot. His arms were crossed and he looked like he meant business. "Who is he?" asked Kevin.

"Who are you?" asked Sirius.

"I'm the Green Ranger!" he said.

"… What?" Sirius asked, as confused as someone who'd just seen _Evangelion_ for the first time.

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME! ZEO RANGER FOUR, GREEN!"

Sirius now had a mouth as wide as a subway tunnel. "THERE'S MORE OF THEM!?" he shouted.

"No. Fucking. WAY!" Sean shouted.

"COME ON!" the new Green Ranger shouted. He ran forward and attacked. Sirius seemed confused and unable to fight back. The Green Ranger threw a punch. Sirius's head jerked back, but he stayed on his feet. His gloves started to crackle, but the Green Ranger jumped back, jumping on top of a car.

"Zeo Blade!" he shouted, drawing his sword. He jumped off the car and attacked Sirius again. Sirius tried to block with his swords, but the new Green Ranger had him outclassed. He thrust and swung at Sirius, which made him stumbled backwards.

"COME ON!" Sean shouted at the rest of them. "Are you just gonna sit here and leave him to himself!?"

"But he's doing fine on his own!" said Marty.

"Rangers NEVER abandon other Rangers!" Sean replied. "LET'S GO—AAH!" He felt a twinge of pain and fell to the ground.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him!" the Green Ranger shouted. He gave Sirius another kick to the chest, which caused the assassin to fall backwards.

He grabbed his chest and tried to stand up, but the new Green Ranger put his foot on Sirius's chest. "Get out of here," he said.

Sirius didn't need another word. He started to crackle before teleporting away.

"Holy shit," said Marty. Sean helped him up and the others got up, too. They gathered near the new guy.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

"Where the hell did you come from?" asked Sean.

"Oh, sorry!" said the new guy. He removed his helmet, causing Sean to recognize him instantly—even though it was clear he'd never met him.

"You—you're—"

"Nice to meet you," he said while extending his hand, "My name's Adam Park. And yes, I'm a veteran Power Ranger."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

"So, the mighty Sirius the Bloodletter lost," Bellatrix cracked while he was being de-briefed by the Ouroboros Society. "What happened?"

"I underestimated them," said Sirius. "But it was obvious they underestimated me, as well."

"And then what?" asked Drake.

"Another Power Ranger arrived," he said.

"Yes, we know about him, he is a police officer," said Drake. "But he will be—"

"No, not him," said Sirius. "He was a Green Ranger." Drake spat out the coffee he was drinking.

"WHAT!?" he said. "Are you saying—"

"I don't know where he came from!" said Sirius. The others all looked shocked and surprised at this.

"How is this possible?" asked Drake.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

Meanwhile, Rob drove up to the crime scene at University Mall. The CPD had cordoned off the area, so he could only go as far as the police tape. He walked up to Chief Granger and tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh, hello, Officer Jackson," he said.

"What's the situation?" he asked.

"A major fight here," said Chief Granger. "But don't worry, we'll handle it."

"Sounds great," said Rob. "I hope you catch the guy who attacked."

"He's not my concern," said Chief Granger. Rob raised his eyebrow. This was not what he expected.

"Well, if he's a member of that group, then—"

"Officer Jackson, you need to stay out of our affairs," said Chief Granger. His tone was threatening and his face sealed the deal. Rob began to feel unease in the pit of his stomach. He didn't say anything else. He simply walked away, a little nervous at Chief Granger.

This didn't make any sense! Why would Chief Granger be—oh, no!

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Sean VO: "Next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Adam: "I came here to help."

Aaron: "But I feel so—"

Adam: (_Interrupting_) "—Inferior?"

Sirius: "I think I'll smoke the Rangers out."

Sean: "Make one more step and we will kill you."

Aaron: "ADAM!"

Rob: "I think something's going on with Chief Granger."

Sean VO: "That's next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

End chapter

So how was that? Things are really starting to ramp up now, so be sure to follow along! And yes, that is Adam, and I decided to make him Zeo Ranger 4 was because he's already been Black Ranger enough that I decided to shake things up. So tell me what you think! Is Sirius a good villain? Did I make any mistakes? Let me know in your review!

Oh, and a big thanks to Brother Grimace, a fellow SIU grad for his review! I feel so honored! Once a Saluki, always a Saluki!


	13. Once a Ranger, Always a Ranger

Hitomi VO: "Previously on _Power Rangers GPX SIU!_"

Sirius: "Why don't I help you out?"

Bridget: "I know that was you."

(_Sean breaks down in tears_)

Aaron: "I just wanted to tell him."

Kevin: "And yet you had the good grace not to say it out loud."

Sirius: "Everyone I've met calls me The Bloodletter!"

(_The Rangers look like they're beating Sirius before he turns the tables on them. Suddenly a Green Ranger appears and chases Sirius off_)

Green Ranger: "My name's Adam Park."

Power Rangers GPX SIU Episode 13: Once A Ranger, Always A Ranger

Warning: The following chapter contains emotional moments that may cause you to cry.

:-:-:-: Pooow-wer Ran-gers Grand Prix, G-P-X, GO! :-:-:-:

"Adam Park is in my apartment," said Sean. "Adam fucking Park."

"I take it you've heard of me," said Adam. "And I've heard of you, too; Well, the both of you, anyway."

"Yeah, I know," Sean groaned. Adam took a sip of milk that Sean had given him. The other Rangers were actually quite surprised a Ranger from the other universe had arrived. Before now the only way they could appear was through holograms generated by the Multiversal Morphing Grid. "So you're here to—"

"I'm here to help," said Adam.

"Yes, but we always assumed that you couldn't interfere in our universe," said Sean. "Isn't this breaking the rules? And what happens if people find out you're from another universe?"

"They don't have to," Adam replied. "I'm not here to interfere; I'm not even going to be here very long."

"Well that's all fine and dandy, but again, people might figure out you're not—"

"I said they don't have to find out!" Adam interrupted. "All they have to know is that I'm another Ranger, perhaps one of many Rangers recruited by 'Professor Gearhead'."

"I think he can pull it off," said Marty. Sean looked at Marty and smiled at him like he was making a joke. "What, I was serious!"

"Hey, I've seen crazier things in my universe," said Adam. "And yes, they can top whatever you can think of."

"Sure, that sounds nice," said Sean.

"Um, Mr. Park, how long are you going to be here for?" asked Hitomi

"Probably for only a few days," said Adam. "Sean said I can't interfere, so I can't stay."

"Better stay in a hotel," said Sean. "This is University Housing; you can't stay here for more than one day."

"Okay," said Adam. "Can I stick around, though?"

"Yeah, sure," said Marty.

"By the way, why did you come?" asked Aaron.

"Because I wanted to help," said Aaron. "We've already been watching you and your other-universe counterparts for a while. Tommy focuses on your counterparts and Jason has kept his eye on you. We wanted to help both of you, but Gosei told us to try and focus on one—"

"Who the fuck is Gosei?" said Sean.

"Sorry, that's two years away," said Adam. "Anyways, it was suggested that we only help one of you out, and after what happened to Sean's sister, we decided to help you guys out."

"What about the Orlando team?" asked Aaron.

"They're doing fine, last time we checked," said Adam, "Although Kalderon seemed to be massing a huge force to invade Orlando with."

"Great," said Sean, "Those guys better not get cocky. So where are you going to stay?"

"Do you have some place?" asked Adam. Sean thought for a moment and then a light appeared above his head… but not really.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"Sean, what is it this time?" Rob asked. He was standing at the door of his house, wearing an apron while they could hear Allie and Cassie wailing in the background. Allie was screaming for her mommy, Cassie was probably screaming for her milk. And Rob did not look very happy.

It was lucky he was a Power Ranger, too. "Um, we have a little situation," said Sean. "Long story short, this guy's from another universe and he needs a place to stay."

"Got any cash?" asked Rob.

"Yes," said Adam, "But these guys pointed out I could have my cover blown."

Rob shook his head, annoyed with Sean's insistence. "You're lucky I'm a Ranger too," he said, pointing at Adam.

"Really, what color?" asked Adam.

"Silver," he replied. "Come on in I'll show you around." Adam followed him in, looking around at Rob's house.

"Looks nice," he said.

"Yeah, it's nice for our income," Rob replied. "Okay, don't worry, she'll be okay," Rob said, trying to console the wailing Allie. "I'm sorry, her mother—Sean's sister—got bit by a Mannequin. We were worried about her."

Adam could see just how much the families of the Rangers in this universe were affected. In his universe, there was rarely an attack on the family of the other Rangers. If there was, it wasn't really much of a problem, except when Wes's dad was nearly killed. But that was a different example. It is, however, about as close to this example as he can think of. Just watching Rob taking care of his daughters as best he could gave him a knot in the pit of his stomach.

"Bridge knows," said Sean. Adam and Rob turned around. Even Maria (who'd snuck up behind Sean) was taken aback by this. "She told me."

"How?" asked Adam. "I mean, how—"

"She recognized my voice," said Sean. "She is my sister after, all. I'm not as surprised now as when she told me."

"So… Bridget knows we're…" Rob said, covering Allie's ears. "What am I going to do now?"

"It's not like she's going to tell anyone," said Sean. "She's gonna keep our secret." Maria, Adam and Rob all sighed in relief.

"You scared me," said Adam.

"Well it's not like it's really going to change much, the Lightspeed guys didn't even bother with secret identities!" said Sean.

"And I might as well say this now," said Rob, "I think there's something going on with Chief Granger."

"Something going on, what do you mean?" asked Sean.

"He doesn't seem to care about the guy who attacked yesterday," said Rob. Sean looked at Adam, a little concerned.

"We'll get SWORD to look into him," said Sean. "Those guys make the CIA look like newbies."

"I hope you're right," said Adam.

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Drake watched Sirius sharpen his sword. The previous day's battle with the Rangers caught the Ouroboros Society off guard. Even though Sirius (barely) pulled out the victory, he still had to deal with the Rangers and a newcomer. His reaction, however, provoked a different response.

Whereas Ronald, got infuriated after losing to the Rangers the first time (and hence drew the Society into conflict with them), Sirius seemed actually _happy _to lose. The reason for those was simple: He finally had a worthy opponent. Just like the Ouroboros Society. Now Sirius was planning to attack Carbondale again to get at the Rangers. How he would do it was a completely different manner.

The sparks flew left and right while he sharpened his sword. He took it off and looked at it. A smile told Drake that Ronald was satisfied with the sharpness of his blade. "What are your plans?" he asked.

Sirius gave Drake a look. Since the two have known each other since they were 10 years old, they knew what the other was thinking when they looked at each other. "You are going to attack, of course," said Drake.

"Of course," said Sirius. Drake sighed.

"And what are you planning, specifically?"

"I think I'll smoke the Rangers out," he said.

Drake sighed again. "We do that by sending a monster to defeat them," he said. "How are you going to be any different?"

Sirius examined his other sword. He began to sharpen this one, as well. Drake was not sure if he was ignoring him or simply so focused on his blade that he forgot about Drake. "That hospital, where the Red Ranger's sister is," said Sirius, "Looks defenseless."

"Do not," said Drake. "Do not bring the Rangers into a personal battle. If anything, you will only provoke their rage."

"Exactly," said Sirius. "Unlike you, I like fighting an angry enemy. It's so much more _fun_."

"You are worse than a Norse berserker," said Drake.

"Except I don't go berserk," said Sirius. "Of course, that might just be an empty threat."

"Knowing you Sirius, I doubt it," said Drake. Sirius chuckled, refusing the answer the other alchemist. He just went back to sharpening his sword. "When will you attack?"

"Today."

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

"You know, I kind of like this place," Adam said while sipping some coffee at the Student Center Starbuck's with Aaron seated across from him. "It's a lot better than UC Angel Grove. That place was too condensed and cluttered. This place, on the other hand, is just right."

"That's nice," said Aaron. Adam could see something was wrong with his fellow Green Ranger. He had barely touched his coffee and was clearly sulking. Well, now, being a Ranger, Adam felt he had to say something.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I just feel so—"

"Inferior?" Adam interrupted. Aaron nodded. Adam put his jacket on and urged Aaron to follow him. However, seeing as he was unfamiliar with the layout of the Student Center (even if it is just one long hallway) he let Aaron lead him to a small amphitheater outside the south entrance of the Student Center where they could have their conversation. "Let me guess, you're resenting the Red Ranger."

"I'm not the only one," said Aaron.

"Yes, I've heard of him," said Adam, "in both of your universes."

"Is there something about Green Rangers that makes us green with envy?" asked Aaron.

"Not me," said Adam. "I settled into my role pretty quickly."

"Role?" asked Aaron.

"Every Ranger has a role," said Adam. "Red is usually the leader, although there have been exceptions. Blue is usually second-in-command and apart from the both of us, the Green Ranger is well… goofy." Aaron scoffed his laughter. "Just be glad you're not one of _those _Green Rangers."

"I don't think I can be," said Aaron. "But the other guy thought he was entitled to be Red Ranger, so he was angry."

"And that cost him dearly," said Adam. "Sometimes, the other Rangers can be difficult to work with, but in the end, they always stick together. It's the battles you go through that make you the unstoppable teams you are. And judging by Sean's determination and refusal to give up—although retreating is a smart move—you guys are following his lead in a way that impresses all of us.

"But I don't want to be just a follower," said Aaron.

"And you don't have to be," said Adam. He leaned forward and pointed at Aaron. "Judging by the way you're talking, you're taking this opportunity for granted. You are one of the select few—the first Rangers in this entire universe. This is a huge honor! Sure, you're putting your life on the line, but that's a risk we all take. You don't have to be content with your position. The danger comes when you start to think that you start to resent everyone else. You've seen what happens."

"Of course," said Aaron.

"Now, you'll have to give Sean a chance to recover from what happened to him, but you can tell him you feel insecure with him," said Adam. "You can use the others as fuel to your fire. Just do in a way that doesn't harm anyone. You're a team, not a group of individuals, after all. Everyone does their part. You just need to find out what your part is, got that?"

Aaron nodded. Adam patted him on the shoulder as he got up and got ready to go. "I have to get to class," he said.

"I'm not stopping you," Adam replied. He gave Aaron a smile as he walked off to class.

"Impressive speech," said a voice from behind. Adam turned around and saw Rob standing behind the hedgerow that surrounded the amphitheater.

"When did you get there?" asked Adam.

"About a minute ago," said Rob. "I didn't know he was so insecure."

"It happens," said Adam. "I'll admit I got tired of Tommy from time to time."

Rob laughed. "I don't have time for that," he said. "I have my own mission, just like Kevin."

"What's he doing?" asked Aaron.

"He's talking to a teacher here who may know a few things about alchemy," said Rob. "So far he hasn't had as much luck, but we think he's biding his time."

"I take you guys already have some roles figured out," said Adam.

"He is a TA, and he can't talk to the others, so in one way it's a good thing he doesn't speak to them as much," said Rob.

"At least he has a mission," said Adam. "And aren't you supposed to be on duty?"

"I'm on break," Rob said with a chuckle. He walked inside, with Adam following.

"Do you know any good places to get some lunch?" he asked.

"Of course," said Rob, "But I can't go with you."

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

It was late afternoon. Sirius stood on a corner near the Amtrak station blending in as much as he could. His swords where hidden from view, though. He looked around, hoping no one could see him. That was when he pulled his phone out. "Yes, this is Sirius," he said. "I'm going to attack the hospital in 60 minutes." He hung up and began his trek to the hospital.

Now he was going to see how well the Rangers responded.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

As Aaron studied, he looked over at Sean and Maria. They were looking at Sean's laptop, looking for something. "What are you looking at?" he asked.

"Trying to find out more about Sirius the Bloodletter," said Sean. "Did you have a nice chat with Adam?"

"Yes," he replied. "He told me we all have roles."

"I've settled into mine," said Maria, "Long ago, anyway." Sean chuckled in response.

"Looks like he's left survivors," said Sean. "An entire village in England was slaughtered except for a 12-year-old girl who hid in the pub. Heck of a place to hide. She said Sirius seemed to be erratic with his killing, but he was also focused."

"How is that possible?" asked Aaron.

"Maybe he just got caught up," said Maria. "I knew we've gotten focused while fighting."

"It says he was looking for one person," said Sean. "Perhaps he doesn't like leaving witnesses. If that's the case, we'd better stop him before he does any—hold on." He checked his phone and answered it. "Yeah?" he said. As he listened to the voice on the other end, his eyes widened in horror and Aaron and Maria could tell something was up. It was not good. "When? An hour? Oh, no, that doesn't give them time. No, of course we'll be there! See if they can get as many people out of there as possible!" He hung up the phone and got up, grabbing his black leather jacket.

"What is it?" asked Maria.

"Sirius is going after the hospital," said Sean.

"_WHAT!?_"

"Yeah, I know!" he replied. "Get your shit together; we'll be there to meet the bastard!" He got on his communicator and started talking. "He's going after the hospital! Be there in one hour!"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

The hour was almost up. Sirius began sauntering through the streets of Carbondale. He decided to announce his presence, blowing up a car that had been parked at the Amtrak station. People started running, but he ignored them except for the sound of their screams. Oh, how he loved the hear that! Any one who got in his way was cut down. He was not going to stop for anything.

He passed by the main square of town. The cops who tried to stop him were also cut down. But they got the message that he was there to face the Rangers, no one else. It was best they stayed out of his way. He could either take East Main St or West Jackson St. Either one worked just fine. In the end, he turned on to East Main St and followed the road there.

As he walked forward, the bystanders stayed out of his way. However, that was when he noticed eight figures standing in the intersection of East Main St and North University Avenue.

The Rangers had arrived. They stood tall and defiant, waiting for Sirius to arrive. As he approached, they stood their ground. Maria, out of reflex, grabbed for Sean's hand and gave it a squeeze. He returned it. It calmed the both of them down knowing they were there.

As for Aaron, he tried to stay calm. A hand on his should from Adam made him ease up. He took a deep breath and waited for Sean to make his ultimatum. "Sirius the Bloodletter!" Sean called out, "Take one more step and we will kill you!"

"Who the hell are you to order me?" he asked.

"I said STOP RIGHT THERE!" Sean shouted. Sirius smiled and stopped, putting his hands up.

"Okay," he said. "Now who the hell are you?"

"Your worst nightmare," said Sean. He displayed his morpher and puller his key out of the jacket. Everyone readied their morphers. "This is as far as you go, Sirius!" he said. "READY!?"

"_READY!_"

"_GPX, START IT UP!_"

"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME! ZEO RANGER FOUR, GREEN!"

Sirius was momentarily blinded by the light before he looked again. There they were, the Power Rangers, in all their spandex-clad glory. "So you're the Power Rangers!" he said. "I had no idea!"

"We're full of surprises!" said Sean. "The threat still stands! Come any closer and die!"

Sirius laughed. Just to see what would happen, he took a goose step and approached them. Suddenly, he felt a blow to his face, and he twirled around before noticing the Silver Ranger had attacked him first. "Very well then," he said, drawing one of his swords. He launched himself at Silver, but Rob got out of the way.

The first one he fought was Sean. His GT Sword clashed with Sirius's sword and the two ground it out in the middle of the intersection. Sean tried to push Sirius to the south, but Sirius held his ground. He drew his sword back, which caused Sean to stumble forward. He took a swing at Sean. Sparks flew from Sean's suit and he fell backwards. However, he recovered and attacked Sirius again.

He made Sirius turn around, keeping him in place. That was when Sirius felt several shots hit him in the back. Kevin and Rob had shot him. He broke away from Sean and raced towards the two. However, he felt a blow to his side and fell down. He looked up to see Adam getting ready to thrust his Zeo Sword down on him. He rolled out of the way and blocked Adam's sword attack. He also turned Adam around and then kicked him in the gut.

He whipped his head around to see Hitomi and Maria coming in. He ducked to avoid Hitomi, but then he felt Maria's boot to his face. After a dazed moment, he jumped away from Hitomi. Then, all of a sudden, he burst towards Maria and slashed her before she had a chance to see him. "_Ay dios MIO _he's fast!" she said.

"Dammit!" said Marty. He saw Sirius coming right at him. He wound up his hammer and took a big swing at the alchemist assassin. Sirius dodged and then took his sword pommel and jabbed it into Marty's gut. However, Kevin grabbed him and pulled him away.

Sirius's gloves began to crackle again. However, Kevin was not going to be fooled this time. He twisted his arm behind his back and shoved him to the ground. Sirius "oof'd" as he felt some of the wind knocked out of him.

"Stay away from that hospital if you'll know what's good for you," said Kevin.

Sirius threw him off and delivered a side kick to Kevin. He got out of the way and when Sirius tried to grab him, he dodged it again and shoved Sirius to the ground.

"I'm impressed, Rangers," he said. They all gathered around him. He was surrounded; Rangers on all sides and no way to escape.

That simplified his problem.

He grabbed his sword and with his incredible speed, went after Marty first. The Gold Ranger groaned and screamed as Sirius attacked almost unmercifully before he felt a boot to the side of the head. It was Sean, who was helping out his best friend. "Don't even think about it!" said Sean.

Sirius wiped his mouth off and gripped his sword. He got up and charged Sean, but Sean blocked his attack. The rings on Sean's boots began to spin as he tried to stay in place. Sirius was pushing him closer and closer to the hospital. Suddenly, he felt himself tumble over the sign in front of the hospital. Sirius had broken through!

Suddenly, Sirius was drawn away from Sean. Adam had grabbed Sirius and was dragging him away from Sean. Sean got back up and punched Sirius in the left cheek.

Sirius growled. The Rangers had him on the run. However, he was not done. His glove began to crackle again and he grabbed Adam.

_KA-BOOM!_

The resulting explosion sent Adam flying backwards and he crashed into Rob. The two tumbled for a few feet before stopping. Sirius was going after Sean, getting aggressive. However, Sean ducked and left it up to Maria, whose fist connected with Sirius's left cheek. She helped him up and the two went after the assassin, attacking with an intense fury.

Sean's sword collided with Sirius's swords and Maria added a little extra for support. They both took their chances against him. They had them on the run, and Maria was going after Sirius with such intensity even Sean was surprised. "DON'T YOU DARE HARM MY BOYFRIEND'S SISTER!" she shouted. Sirius stopped, surprised at what he just heard.

"About time I heard that," said Rob. Everyone else's eyes (if you could see them) were wide and full of surprise.

"Maria, you're not supposed to say that yet!" said Sean, "The part about us being boyfriend and girlfriend, I mean."

"Sorry," she replied before kicking Sirius in the shin. The assassin was not happy, but he did not hop around like a cartoon character, he just retaliated by swinging his sword at Maria. She ducked and slammed the handle of her dagger into his gut. He felt the wind knocked out of him and then a blow to the back as Sean had just slammed his elbow into his spine.

The assassin coughed as he regained his breath, but he got back up right as he saw a more aggressive Marty rushing forward, brandishing his hammer at him. Marty brought his hammer down but Sirius rolled out of the way. He blocked Marty's hammer with his sword as best he could, but it's a hammer. It's not easy! Marty thrust the head of his hammer at Sirius, but Sirius jumped out of the way.

Then he felt something hit his back and his face collided with the head of the hammer. He rolled off, holding his face in agony. "That was me," Adam said, placing his boot on Sirius's back.

"You guys are better than I thought," he said with a laugh.

"You're not angry?" asked Sean.

"Are you kidding me?" Sirius replied. "You lot are the best fight I've had in years! I'm actually getting tired!"

"Glad we're helping," said Sean. "Now let's discuss the terms of your surrender. If you do, you might get a plea deal and get off life without parole. If not… well, you're probably gonna die."

"In that case," Sirius's gloves began to crackle and he grabbed at Adam. Adam got out of the way, but Sirius grabbed Marty. The resulting explosion sent Marty flying towards the sign and he crashed into it, taking out the "DALE" part of Carbondale.

After a moment of shock, the Rangers attacked again. They swarmed Sirius in an attempt to overwhelm him, but wielding both swords, he was able to block all of them save for Adam, who was over at the sign helping Marty up.

Hitomi threw a reverse roundhouse kick at Sirius, but he ducked. He blocked her next punch and hit her back. Kevin caught her and threw her back at him and she delivered a nice punch to him. However, he grabbed her and tossed her to the side. He grabbed Kevin's helmet and elbowed him in the head, making him fall backwards.

When he got away, Sirius grabbed both his swords and turned on his speed. He ran circles around the Rangers. Sparks flew from their suits as he did his thing and they fell backwards. Then his gloves began to crackle. He clapped his hands, put them out and as if it was magic, the explosion and they were thrown backwards by the force of the explosion.

Marty had recovered and punched Sirius right in the face. He then grabbed the assassin's jacket and went to town on him like this was a hockey game. Sirius fell to the ground and tried to get Marty off, eventually kicking the Gold Ranger off of him. He got back up and slashed Marty with the sword in his left hand.

He didn't let Sean sneak up from behind. He stepped out of the way and tripped Sean up. He lifted his sword and was about to bring it down on him but his attack was blocked by Adam's Zeo Sword. Adam threw his sword off and took a couple of slashed at Sirius. The assassin fell backwards.

He sighed in annoyance. That was when Aaron rushed forward and kicked him in the face. He threw several more punches and kicks at Sirius, which caused him to fall backwards onto the damaged sign.

Sirius took his gloves and caused another explosion. The Rangers were thrown backwards on the street but they got back up pretty quickly.

Sirius had gotten more aggressive though, and used his speed to take out the Rangers one by one. They landed on the ground, groaning and moaning. Sirius then went straight for Aaron. The Green Ranger tried to get up, but he put his foot on Aaron's chest. He lifted his sword. "Prepare to die," he said. Aaron's eyes got wider in horror. His breath quickened and his heart began to pound. Sirius brought his sword down.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"_AAAAADAAAAMMM!_" Aaron shouted.

"_NOOOOOOOO!_" Sean screamed.

Sirius's sword was sticking out of Adam's body. The green in his suit mixed with his blood. Sirius drew his sword from Adam's body, causing him to jerk.

Then, Adam spun around and attacked Sirius. The other Rangers got up and began to try and help their fellow Ranger. Aaron was too shocked to move, but eventually he got back up and attacked Sirius.

Sirius tried to get back at the Rangers, but they weren't letting up. Suddenly, Sirius created another explosion that knocked the Rangers back and HERE COMES ADAM!

Even though he was mortally wounded, Adam pressed on. He went after Sirius with incredible vigor, driving him backwards. Sirius tried to defend, but it was all for naught. Suddenly, he too, felt something stick right through his body. He looked down and saw that Adam's sword had been jammed straight into his body.

He felt cold. He could barely stand. His vision began to fade. When Adam drew his sword out, he fell backwards on the ground. He gagged on his blood. He looked up at the sky as he got colder. His vision faded and soon, the blackness engulfed him.

Sirius the Bloodletter was dead.

At the same time, Adam collapsed onto the ground. The other Rangers rushed to his side. "Adam!" Sean said, taking off his and Adam's helmet. He looked pale and blood was trickling out of the sides of his mouth. "Hang on, okay?"

"Adam!" Aaron shouted. He looked absolutely devastated.

Adam could barely talk. It was only when Hitomi lifted his head up that he could talk. "Is he…"

"He's dead," said Sean. Adam smiled.

"Then I did my job," said Adam. He gagged again. He lifted his hands up. Sean grabbed his right and Aaron, who was fighting back tears, grabbed his other. "I'm glad I could have…" He gagged again. "… Done something." He smiled. "Once a Ranger…"

"Always a Ranger," Sean finished. Adam smiled again.

With that, Adam Park, one of the greatest Power Rangers of his time, departed for Valhalla.

His grasp went weak, but the other Rangers held onto him. There was not a dry eye amongst that bunch. "Semper Fi," Rob said with a salute. The other Rangers stood up and saluted their fallen comrade from another universe. They all pulled out their blasters and in a quiet, but powerful moment, with a few people watching, gave Adam a final 21-gun salute.

:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:

With the battle over, the Rangers took Adam's body to a nearby field. It was out of the way, so no one could see the Multiversal Morphing Grid. Sean activated the Grid as the others placed Adam's body down in the field. He was still wearing his Ranger suit, but it was wrapped up to stop the bleeding. In a short moment, the Grid began to give off a light.

A figure appeared. It was Jason again. "Hey guys," he said. "What's—" he saw Adam's body on the ground. "Is he—"

"He went out how a Ranger should," said Sean.

Jason lowered his head. He nodded and prepared to bring Adam to the other universe.

"He died trying to save me," said Aaron.

"There's no better way for a Ranger to go out," said Jason.

"We have some beers and music for him," said Sean. He pulled the cooler over to them and opened it up. The Rangers (save for Hitomi) each pulled out a Budweiser, opened it and raised a toast to the sky.

"To Adam Park," said Jason. "One of the best Rangers I ever knew. I hope he's in a better place."

"He's in Valhalla, assuming it exists," said Sean. "Flute, Kevin."

Kevin nodded and began to play the flute he brought with him. He played a sad, mournful song as Adam's body began to de-materialize to be sent to the next universe. As the flute played, Sean began to sing.

"_The minstrel boy to the war is gone,  
In the ranks of death you'll find him;  
His father's sword he has girded on,  
And his wild harp slung behind him;_

The lyrics were familiar to Maria, who's heard them before and she began to sing along, too, as did Rob._  
_

"_Land of Song!" said the warrior bard,  
"Though all the world betrays thee,  
One sword, at least, thy rights shall guard,  
One faithful harp shall praise thee!_"

By now everyone had joined in (except for Jason) in giving Adam one final musical send-off._  
_

"_The Minstrel fell! But the foeman's chain  
Could not bring his proud soul under;  
The harp he loved ne'er spoke again,  
For he tore its chords asunder;  
And said "No chains shall sully thee,  
Thou soul of love and bravery!  
Thy songs were made for the pure and free  
They shall never sound in slavery!'_"

"SEMPER FI!" Rob shouted as Adam's body finally disappeared.

"Rest in peace, you awesome sonuvabitch!" Marty shouted.

"Once a Ranger!" Sean shouted,

"_ALWAYS A RANGER!_"

:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:

Sean VO: "Next time, on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

Sean: "Bridge is being released!"

Kevin: "Hello, Dr. Nelson."

Drake: "The Rangers have made our fight personal."

Bellatrix: "You devastated my lover."

(_Shots of the Rangers fighting a badger monster. The monster grabs Aaron by the throat_).

Sean VO: "That's next time on _Power Rangers GPX SIU_!"

End chapter

Wow. I can't believe I just did that. I just killed off a very popular Ranger. Although, I really hope I gave him a good treatment, characterization and a great Dying Moment of Awesome for you guys to be happy. No, Johnny Young Bosch isn't dead, but I felt something had to happen. But I'll admit, I got teary-eyed writing this. I hope you guys get teary-eyed as well. You can tell me right down there! Don't give me some emotionless "Cool. I got sad." Say something emotional, dammit! Like, "NOOOO! ADAAAAAMMM!" A great Ranger just died, show it!

Oh, and to the people editing this story's TV Tropes page, please don't add Adam's death, okay? I want people to read this, so just mention a tragic death or something like that and tell people to come here and read it.


End file.
